


Danganronpa: The Killing Experiment

by v0idfishing



Series: Luk's fanganronpa universe [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, Original Character(s), no beta we die like everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22157527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v0idfishing/pseuds/v0idfishing
Summary: 16 Ultimate Students find themselves in a strange enclosed town and are forced to kill each other to escape. You know the drill. Hotaru Misaki, the Ultimate Strategist, is determined to keep her friends(and herself) alive, while uncovering the secrets to this so-called "experiment in despair."This is a revamped version of "Danganronpa:Despair Frenzy", an old work that I have since deleted. I have been using these characters for about 3 years now!
Series: Luk's fanganronpa universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629370
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> UPDATE 1/23/20:  
> TKE has a discord server now! If you want to see chapter updates, art, headcanons, or just wanna talk to me/other people reading, let me know and I can give you a link!
> 
> Here's the DR:TKE fan references folder! This currently only has character reference sheets(name, talent, pronouns), but will eventually have art of the characters, a map of the trial room, etc.!  
> https://bit.ly/36GqkWp

My name is Hotaru Misaki. I am 18 years old. I am the Ultimate Strategist. I am a high school student. I don’t know where I am. It’s dark, and the floor below me is cold.

My name is Hotaru Misaki.

My eyes slowly flutter open. My hands graze across the floor. It feels less cold than it did when I was still waking up, but it’s still unpleasant to touch. Bright lights shine into my eyes from the ceiling, and I have to cover them with my arm as I sit up. A groan escapes me, and I start to take in my surroundings. I’m in..a bedroom? It’s not my own, though. The structure is wooden, with an old sort of air to it. All I know for sure is that I’ve never been there before. I slowly pull myself to my feet, brushing myself off. As I take a better look around, I notice a piece of paper sitting on top of the neatly made bed. Huh. Maybe that’ll give me a better idea of what’s going on.

I unfold the paper, and read the note inside, written in an over-the-top squiggly handwriting.

_Hello, citizens!_

_You’ve all been specially chosen to participate in this very special Despairville experiment, hosted for Ultimate Students only! I hope you all enjoy your stay here. There will be a mandatory opening ceremony in the town hall at 9:00 AM exactly. Until then, feel free to familiarize yourself with the town and your new friends!_

Town..? Experiment..? What was going on? I can’t remember anything. Not even how I got here. Or when. But..I guess my best bet is to go look around to see if I can find anything else, or maybe someone who knows what’s going on. It's 8:00, so I have about an hour to look around and try to get my bearings. I pocket the note in my jacket and take one last look around the room before stepping out. The sunlight hurts my eyes more than the lights in the room did, but they quickly adjust, and the scene comes into focus. I'm..in a town. It looks pretty small, but I can't see the town hall from where I'm standing. There's quite a few buildings almost identical to the one I just stepped out of- wooden structures that look pretty close to small cabins. Most of the rest of the buildings look to be down one main street, though it diverges into a four-way intersection after the cabins. Though, the East street looks to be completely blocked off. A sign at the street corner tells me that the town hall is at the end of the main street, straight ahead. 

As I walk down the street, even more confused than I was before, someone comes into view ahead of me. A couple of people, actually, by the looks of it. They’re standing in front of an intricate-looking fountain, inspecting it. The statue on the fountain is off some cartoonish bear. I pick up the pace, stopping next to them. The first to turn to me is a small girl with light blue hair.

“Ah-!” She says, looking a bit startled by my arrival. “Hello! I wasn’t sure if anyone else was coming.”

The person next to her looks my way, giving me a blank stare with deep blue eyes. “You got a note in your cabin, too, right?” He questions.

“Uh, yeah, I did..” I tug down awkwardly at my skirt. “Do either of you remember anything? How we got here, or anything?”

“No..” The girl frowns, shaking her head. She then jerks up suddenly. “Oh! Geez, I d..didn’t introduce myself. I’m..Yuuka Mizushima. I’m the Ultimate...Ultimate Figure skater.”

“Takara Ren,” He gives a weak smile. “Ultimate Mathematician.”

My eyes widen a bit. I’ve heard of Takara before. He’s incredible! Word was he single handedly led his school’s mathlete team to victory on an international level. “Oh! That’s amazing. I’ve heard of you before, you’re really a genius.”

“Oh no, please don’t..” Takara laughs and avoids eye contact, looking embarrassed. “I don’t want you to put me on a pedestal just because I’m good at math.” He tilts his head a bit,then jokes, “Do you have a name, or am I gonna have to identify you by color?”

“Oh, sorry!” I can't help but laugh a bit. “Hotaru Misaki, Ultimate Strategist.”

“That’s cool!” Yuuka offers, her eyes brightening. “I’ve never heard of a talent like that before.”

“Yeah, it’s uh..yeah,” I answer, not exactly sure how to respond. I’m not great with talking about my talent as is, much less when I’m this confused. “..So neither of you know what’s going on?”

Yuuka shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry...we know just about as much as you do. This is apparently some sort of experiment..? And there’s gonna be some sort of opening ceremony. That’s all I’ve got, really...sorry..”

“Don’t worry about it,” I shake my head. “I’m gonna go see what else I can find. See you later! Probably.” I wave goodbye to Yuuka and Takara and head down the street. As I walk, I try my best to take in my surroundings. There's a coffee shop, a bookstore, a general store, a few lamp posts and trees...just like a real town. Though it certainly isn’t one I recognize. As I pass the general store, I hear a clatter from inside. That probably isn’t good. I open the door and peek inside before going in.

It takes a bit of looking around before I figure out where the clatter came from. I peer down an aisle to see a ginger-haired boy sitting on the floor, rubbing his head. Some of the contents of the shelf are scattered on the floor around him.

"Um...are you alright?" I ask, approaching him warily.

He easily pulls himself up to his feet and looks my direction, giving a grin. "Just fine! Just a little tumble, is all." He glances down at the candy and snacks on the floor with a little frown. "Man...wish that shelf weren't so tall."

I glance up at the shelf. It's not much taller than I am, but the boy is pretty short. "Here." I start picking up the snacks and putting then back up on the higher shelves. He helps get stuff on the lower ones, then dusts his hands off on his pants.

"..Aheh...thanks," He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I'm Hibiki, by the way. Hibiki Akiyama, Ultimate Storyteller."

"Nice to meet you!" I give him a little smile, brushing some hair from my face. "Hotaru Misaki. Uh, Ultimate Strategist."

"Awesome!" Hibiki grins and adjusts his oversized bowtie. The smile quickly falls from his face, though. "..Man, this place is weird. Wanna see somethin'?"

"Sure?" I answer cautiously, not sure what he could be showing me.

He gestures for me to follow him, and he walks me over to the checkout counter of the store. Without a second thought, he pulls himself up and over the counter. Before I can speak, he slams his hand down on a button on the cash register. Nothing happens.

"This cash register doesn't even work!" Hibiki presses a couple more buttons, and nothing happens. The machine doesn't even make a sound. "And watch this."

Hibiki picks up the cash register with ease, then simply drops it back on the counter. Instead of the loud, metal thunk one would expect from a cash register hitting marble, it's more like a hollow thunk, as if it were made of plastic.

"Huh," I furrow my brow. That's...unusual, but I've seen weirder here already. 

"This entire place just feels odd," Hibiki shrugs and pulls himself over the counter again. 

"I guess so," I glance back at the door. "I'm gonna head out. I'll probably see you at the..opening ceremony or whatever."

Hibiki returns my wave as I walk out of the store and keep on my path down the street. 

"Heeey!!" I hear someone call from my right side, on the other side of the street. I turn to see a girl with bright orange hair waving at me frantically. There's two others standing by her. "New person!"

I pause briefly, then cross the street to meet the group. "Oh, hi."

"Yo!" The orange-haired girl greats, talking just as loudly as when she was yelling from across the street. "Haven't met you yet. The name's Miyako Hikari! The Ultimate Party Animal! Call me up if you're looking for a good time." She winks more dramatically than necessary.

"Uh, yeah, I'm-"

Before I can finish my own introduction, the person beside Miyako speaks up. "Kenji Sayuri, Ultimate Thespian." They quickly offer a hand for me to shake, grinning.

I blink a few times, a little taken aback by their enthusiasm. But I take their hand and shake it all the same, offering my own, awkward smile as I introduce myself.

"This here is Hachiro!" Miyako pulls the boy closer to her with one arm, clearly startling him and causing him to cling tightly to the oversized green scarf around his neck.

"Um...yeah," He clears his throat and carefully peels himself away from Miyako. "Hachiro Kazuki...Ultimate Spirit Medium."

"Isn't that so fuckin' awesome?" Miyako's grin only grows. "I've never met a legitimate medium before, every other one I've heard of has been total bullshit. But 'Hiro here seems like he's really got it down!"

"Uh...yeah, yeah, cool," The energy from Miyako and Kenji is overwhelming, and I can tell Hachiro is struggling to deal with it, too. "You guys don't know much about what's going on, either?"

"Nope!" Kenji shrugs nonchalantly, but immediately seems to remember something. "I mean! We have been seeing a lotta speakers and security cameras all over the place!" They point behind them and step aside to reveal a security camera sitting above the door to the locked and unnamed building we're standing in front of.

Speakers? Security cameras? In a town? "Weird…" I mutter. Every second I spend here, I just get more and more confused. I let out a long sigh. "I'm...really confused right now, I'm sorry. I'm gonna go see if I can figure anything else out."

I hear Kenji call out "see ya, 'Taru!" as I walk away, but I don't stay long enough to hear anyone else say goodbye. I'm even more confused, and it's starting to get frustrating. I can barely remember anything recent, and nothing about this place makes sense.

I get so caught up in my thoughts, I nearly run into the people standing in front of me. "Oh-!" I stumble backwards a bit to avoid running into them, blinking a few times to collect myself. I've ended up in some sort of town center, with neatly trimmed flora and a walking path surrounding a clock tower. The time reads 8:40.

The one closest to me, a girl with lavender hair, scoffs at me, arms crossed. "Did you need something?"

Her attitude is not helping my decreasing mood. "Um..sorry. Zoned out a bit.." My gaze falls to the sharply-dressed boy standing next to her, who is staring at me now.

"Pay attention next time you're crossing the street, then," She scolds, then lets out a sigh. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Chiyoko Izumi. I'm known as the Ultimate Negotiator."

That name instantly clicks in my brain, but it takes a moment to really register why. "Izumi? As in..the Izumi family Law Firm?"

"That would be the one," Chiyoko's blank expression barely changes. "I'm Hideaki Izumi's youngest daughter."

I give a smile and a polite nod, despite Chiyoko's negative disposition. "I've heard about you. You're incredible."

"No need for flattery," Chiyoko gives an unamused snort. 

"Hello!" The boy finally speaks up, stepping forward. "My name is Ichiro Gorou, I am the Ultimate Violinist. Nice to meet you."

"Hello," I nod in greeting to Ichiro. I've only really heard of the Ultimate Violinist in passing. "I'm Hotaru Misaki, Ultimate Strategist."

"Hm," Is all Ichiro gives me in response.

Before any of us can say any more, a chime sounds from the nearby speakers. A strange, cartoonish voice rings throughout the town.

"It is now 8:45!" The voice exclaims. "The opening ceremony for the Despairville experiment will be happening in 15 minutes! Please make your way to the town hall at your earliest convenience! Tardiness will not be tolerated!"

Chiyoko takes her gaze from the speaker, and turns to look at the town hall, standing just behind the clock tower. "..I suppose that's our cue, then."

Before I can respond, she's off, Ichiro following close behind. I take a deep breath before making my way towards town hall.

The building's interior is shiny and new, looking completely untouched. I walk up the staircase leading to the main floor of the building, taking in my surroundings. There are rows upon rows of seats facing an enormous stage with a podium front and center. There are a few people seated already, some talking quietly and some keeping to themselves. I notice a boy leaning against a far wall by himself. His nearly neon green hair doesn't exactly match the monochrome aesthetic of his clothing. He glances at me as I enter, pulling up his black face mask.There's open space near some people sitting in the front, so I take a seat there and inhale deeply to try and get my thoughts together.

"Hi!" Before I can even think, someone sits themself right next to me. "Hope you don't mind."

I look up to meet bright pink eyes staring at me from under a mountain of wavy bangs. "..Hello?" I say quietly.

"Ah, sorry, um.." They clear their throat. "Didn't even introduce myself. I'm..the,uh..the Ultimate Astrologist! Takumi Katsuro. Are you an Aries?" They ask without even pausing.

"Um.." I shift in my seat, a bit taken off guard by the question. "Yes. I am..I think. My name is Hotaru Misaki..Ultimate Strategist."

"Cool," Takumi gives a big cheesy grin before simply turning to face the stage.

Everyone else arrives within the next few minutes, and we all agree to introduce ourselves to everyone so we're all on the same page.

"Yo!" A girl with curly hair pulled into tight space buns gives a two-finger salute to the group. "Shiori Kyo! Ultimate carpenter! I've got no fuckin' clue what's going on!"

We take no time for side conversation. A stoic-looking girl gives a small wave. "Kaori Ryuu. Ultimate Public Speaker."

Pretty quiet for a public speaker..

"Heya!!" A cheerful girl with pink dip-dyed hair waves to us all. "They call me Ikirashi Aida, Ultimate Comedian!"

"I'm, um, I'm-" A boy with unruly blond hair stammers through his introduction. "Akio Fuyuko! Ultimate, uh...Ultimate..Graphic Designer.."

"Nice to meet you all," A girl with long pink hair runs her hands through her ponytail. "I am Yoshiki Mari, the Ultimate Psychiatrist."

Everyone's gaze turns to the boy standing at the wall. He looks to us all and raises an eyebrow. There is total silence for a moment, so silent it seems unnatural. Then, he speaks up through his mask.

"..Well, if I _have_ to introduce myself.." He sighs. "My name is Ayako Etsudo. I'm known as the Ultimate Chemist."

Ayako pulls himself off of the wall and takes a seat, away from where the rest of us are gathered.

From outside, I can hear the clock tower chime. Nine times. It's 9 AM, which means it's time for the opening ceremony.

I can barely finish that thought before the speakers from the stage crackle to life, right after the ninth chime of the clock.

"Hello, Citizens of Despairville!" The same voice speaks. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to the world's first ever enclosed _experiment in despair!"_

As the voice says that, some bright lights shine onto the stage, and the house lights go dim. Was that even possible for a town hall stage? Well, a normal one, at least. The lights reveal something sitting on top of the podium. It's...a weird bear. It looks almost like a stuffed animal, but it seems way too lively. It pretty closely resembles that figure on the fountain...

"Heeellooo everyone!" The bear shouts. "I am Mayor Monokuma! And I will be running this experiment and making sure this town runs smoothly!"

"What the _fuck_?" Miyako laughs in disbelief. "What in the shit are you? What is this experiment you keep mentioning?"

Monokuma huffs in obvious fake offense. "You kids have no patience these days! But...if you want to know so badly, I'll give you the rundown!

"Some of you may have noticed that once you reach the ends of this town, you are met with a towering, electrified, barbed wire fence!!"

I frown. I hadn't even noticed that. I was so preoccupied with everything else..how could I have missed something so important?

"That means, there is no way out!" Monokuma continues. "And...no way in!! You will all be spending the rest of your lives in this quaint little town! How lucky you are!"

"Wh-What?" Yuuka stammers. "What are you talking about? I c..I can't live here!"

"Oh, but you can!" Monokuma laughs. "However...there is a loophole! A way out!"

He pauses, presumably for dramatic effect.

"If you kill another citizen and get away with it, you can go home scott-free!!"

I hear a couple people gasp, and the air fell stiff and silent.

That silence is very quickly broken by roaring laughter from Miyako. "You're- ahaha… you're kidding! _Kill_ someone and get out? Like anyone would do that."

"I am _not_ joking!" Monokuma huffs. "The only way out is to kill! It's either that or rot here forever! You'll be provided with enough resources to last as long as you can, but I can one hundred percent assure you that someone will snap before then!"

"This is ridiculous!" Yoshiki shouts, standing up in her seat. "We have families back home! People who care for us! People are gonna come looking for us!"

Monokuma laughs. Loudly and for a while. "Oh, goodness! How naive...oh well! Can't expect you to understand it right away!"

I look around the room at everyone, my head pounding. _This can't be happening. No way._ It's just a nightmare, right? Yeah. This isn't real. It's all just a bad dream and if I think hard enough I'll wake up and be safe in my bed at home..

My train of thought is interrupted by someone putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. I jumped and turned to see Kenji, who was sitting next to me, looking at me worriedly. I inhale deeply and try to give them a look that communicates that I'm alright.

"If you would all please check your pockets, you will find your e-handbooks!" Monokuma explains, despite everyone starting to panic. I reach into the pocket of my jacket, and sure enough, there's a small device in it. It looks to pretty much be a cell phone. 

"These will be vital to your life here!" Monokuma explains. "Breaking them will be considered breaking a town rule, so be careful! Contained in them in information on your fellow citizens, the rules of the experiment, and more! Please take time to look through them after the ceremony."

My heart drops into my stomach. What the _fuck_ is going on? This was all so..specific and premeditated. I can't do this. How can I do this? I hear the people around me start to talk, amongst themselves, and to monokuma, but I can't hear them. I'm drowning them out in my panic. No one can speak louder than my own heart pounding in my ears.

"One more thing before I let you go!" Monokuma cleared his throat, catching the attention of the room. "It's not easy to run a town all by myself! So I would like to introduce my assistant mayor! Come on out!"

He gestures to the right wing of the stage, and slowly, very slowly, something walks out. It looks almost identical to monokuma, but the color scheme is blue and white rather than black and white. And it looks to be stuck in a permanent sad expression.

"H...Hello…!" It stammers. "I am..Nakukuma!! I...I-I will be your assistant mayor..! If you have any questions about...a-about the killing game or the town, please..don't...do not hesitate to ask me!!"

"Simply press the blue button in the left corner of your e-handbook screen to summon Nakukuma!" Monokuma explains. "Ask him anything! _Unless_ you are asking about us, the person or people behind the experiment, or any of the restricted buildings in town! That is forbidden knowledge, and shall not be spoken of!"

And...just like that, the lights on stage turned off, and Monokuma and Nakukuma were simply gone. I hear Yuuka crying, Ichiro trying and failing to calm everyone down, Kenji is calling my name….

I can't focus on any of it. I have to get out. I can't be here anymore. I grab the armrests of my chair for support, shakily stand up, take a step…

And fall unconscious onto the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DR:TKE has a Discord server now! Dm me on instagram(@h0neypunk) or leave a comment for the link! The server is just for y'all to interact with me and other fans of the story(as well as get chapter updates and art!)

I slowly open my eyes, feeling drowsy, like I hadn’t slept at all. My eyes instinctively squint as they adjust to the light. What time is it..? How long have I been asleep? Am I still in that...

Before I can even think “killing game”, I shoot up in bed and look around.That was all a dream, right? I’m at home, in my own bed, in my own house.

My delusions only last a brief moment before Kenji is in my field of vision. They're standing at the end of my bed, looking nervous. They seem relieved that I'm awake, though.

"Oh, thank God!" They release a breath, and move a bit closer. "How are you feeling..?"

"Hmmrg.." I groan, rubbing my eyes and blinking a few times. "..Not great. How..How long was I out?"

"A little less than a day.." Kenji rubs the back of their neck. "Shiori helped me carry you back here, and I've been checking on you every few hours."

"..Oh," I slump a little, frowning. "That's a long time...how is everyone else..? Has anyone..?" I trail off, just hoping they know what I mean.

"Everyone's fine," Kenji shakes their head. "We've been doing a thorough sweep of the town while you were passed out." They sigh and run a hand through their hair. "..The place really is fenced in. It looks like there's nothing beyond the fence for miles…"

"Jesus.." I rub my eyes, pulling the covers off and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "And there's no way out? No way to contact the outside world?"

"Not that we've found.." Kenji slumps a bit. "But we're trying. We'll figure it out."

I nod, standing up and stretching my arms. My shoulders make a horrendous popping sound and I can't help but wince. Damn, I was really out for a long time. 

"I think I should take a look around, too," I look over at Kenji when I'm done stretching. "Get acquainted with the place."

"Sounds like a plan!" A smile places itself on Kenji's face. They give me a wave before leaving my cabin.

I yawn as I look around the room. It seems just the same as it was when I came here. There isn’t much- just a bed, a nightstand, a desk, and a closet. A look at the clock lets me know that it's already 3 PM. The place is spotless and neatly organized. Whoever trapped us here seems to care decently for our wellbeing, despite the murder..

Once I’m fully awake and changed into clean clothes, I leave my cabin to go take a look around town. I never really got acquainted with the place on my first walk around, and it would probably serve me best to get a feel of the place I’ll likely be spending a while in…

I turn the corner from the cabins, since I didn’t get a chance to look down that road the other day. It looks like I’m only able to go left from the cabins, since the right side just leads straight into a wall covered in barbed wire. I notice a bunch of those security cameras everywhere...on lamp posts, over doors, I even notice a few hidden under the sidewalks. It’s, quite frankly, weird as _fuck._

More than a few buildings on this street are locked or at least dark and unnamed. The first thing that catches my attention is the tallest building I’ve seen so far- a tall, relatively wide building labelled as a hotel. Why would we need a hotel if there were cottages for us? This place just kept getting weirder and weirder. Guess I might as well check it out, though.

I push open the door to the hotel, taking a look around. It just looks like a normal hotel lobby, though..there's no other people. At least, that's what I thought at first. My eyes catch Takumi out of the corner of my eye. They’re leaning over the check-in counter of the lobby, standing on their tiptoes to peer as far as they can. 

“Takumi?” I ask, slowly approaching them. Apparently not slow enough, because when I speak, Takumi jumps and nearly falls over the counter to the other side. They quickly recover, though, and turn around to face me with a sheepish smile on their face.

"Ah-!" They laugh weakly, brushing themselves off. "Heya, Hotaru…"

"Hi.." I give them a small wave, then look over to try and see what they were looking for.

"Oh, uh.." They seem to catch on. "I was trying to see if there was anything hidden back there, I guess? Like another person or a secret entrance or something…" They trail off, rubbing the back of their neck. "Didn't find anything, though."

"Huh," I nod, looking around the lobby. It's completely empty, save for the two of us...there's a couple vending machines, some armchairs, and a staircase leading upstairs, but no other people, not even a sign of another person. 

"Hey, are you an Aries?" Takumi's question interrupts my train of thought.

"Huh?" I quickly look back at them, a little confused by the sudden change in subject. "Oh, uh...yeah, I think so...why?"

"Just curious," Takumi shrugs. "I've gotten pretty good at telling people's signs quickly."

I let a small smile fall on my face. "I guess they don't call you the Ultimate Astrologist for nothing!" I say, moving over to pull myself onto the counter and sit on it. "That's pretty impressive. I've never, uh..been too big on astrology or anything, but it's interesting."

"I'm glad you think so!" Takumi folded their hands in front of them. "Most people don't think it's a legitimate talent, I'm surprised it's even considered an ultimate talent.."

I simply shrug. "I think it's perfectly legitimate. Whether or not you think it's a 'real science' or whatever is irrelevant, really."

"Oh, I don't think it has anything to do with science at all!" Takumi quickly shakes their head. "It's more spirituality for me.."

"I see.." I nod. I've never really learned much about spirituality stuff outside of what I grew up with, but I like learning about how other people think.

I spend a little bit of time talking with Takumi about their talent. I don't really understand any of it, but they seem really passionate about it, and it's kind of cute to watch them get so excited about something they love. Eventually, I pull myself off the counter and let Takumi know that I'm off to go look around elsewhere.

Most sections of the hotel look to be blocked off, but there's a massive dining hall connected to a kitchen on the second floor. Monokuma wasn't lying when he said we'd be accommodated for...there's enough food to feed all sixteen of us for months, at least.

After making sure I've seen everything, I leave the hotel and see what else is around. Along the same street is a gym, a clothing store, a library, and a couple other unmarked and locked buildings. I reach the end of the street and...I hit a dead end. And I'm face-to-face with a towering fence, complete with a voltage warning sign. Monokuma...really wasn't kidding. It's far too high to climb, and you would get cut by the barbed wire and electrocuted if you even tried. The wire's unbelievably thick, too…

"Hotaru!" I hear a voice gently call from behind me, and I turn to see Yoshiki running to catch up to me. She stops just a little bit behind me, wearing a small smile. "You're up. How are you doing?" 

"Oh, yeah.." I nod slowly. I had almost forgotten that I was unconscious for a long time.. "I'm alright, thank you."

"I'm glad," Yoshiki lets out a sigh of relief. "I was worried that you were suffering a bad nervous condition...I got so scared when you just passed out like that.."

I give her a little smile in gratitude. "I'm okay. Guess it was all just too much for me, aha.." A nervous laugh escapes my lips.

"That is understandable.." Yoshiki lets her shoulders fall as she sighs. "We haven't found any more clues as to what's going on..I have been searching tirelessly, but..nothing."

"Well, surely someone's gonna come looking for us," I say in an attempt to reassure her. "It's only been a day.."

"I sure hope so," Yoshiki lets out a short huff. "This place is so different from my home, it's hard to get used to.."

"Oh?" I tilt my head. "Where are you from?"

"I live in Kyoto," She explains, looking at her surroundings as she spoke. "I've never really been in any sort of small town before, and especially not such an empty one as this." 

"That's a big change," I give a little laugh. "Such a big city to a closed off town with sixteen people.."

"Yeah.." Yoshiki sighs and pulls her ponytail over her shoulder, running her hands through it. Then, she quickly shakes her head. "..I'm going to go find something to eat. You're more than welcome to join me if you want."

I pause to think about it. Though it's dinnertime by now and I've been asleep for nearly a day, I'm..not feeling particularly hungry. "I'm fine. Thank you, though."

"Alright," Yoshiki smiles, then waves to me as she turns to go to the hotel.

I sigh heavily. Everything about this place is weird. How is there a town in the middle of nowhere, that no one knows of? Why does the person(or, more likely, people) running this want us to murder each other? Why can't we remember how we got here?

My head hurts. Even though I've only been awake for a few hours, I feel exhausted all over again. I decide to just call it a day and start the walk back to my cottage. Even if I don't end up falling asleep, I just need somewhere to sit and be alone.

The second I get inside my cottage and close the door, I collapse onto my bed with a loud groan. Everything is so confusing...and there's so many new people..I don't know what to do. I'm the Ultimate Strategist..am I supposed to be able to do something about all this? Why haven't I done anything about this? I passed out at the first sign of stress, and so far I haven't figured anything out. Why can't I figure this out? I can always figure things out. Why-

My spiralling thoughts are interrupted when my eyes catch something on my nightstand that I didn't see before. I shoot up in bed. How did I miss that?

I lean in to get a better look, frowning. There's an object covered in a fancy-looking cloth, and a small note. I pick up the note gingerly and read.

_Here's a special present from me to you! Use it in whatever way you'd like._

_-Monokuma_

I cringe slightly. This can't be good. I slowly and very carefully unfold the cloth covering the object. Underneath it is an intricately designed, small dagger. I lift it to my eyes and inspect it closely. It's so shiny I can see my reflection in it, and I can make out the details in the handle- a spiral pattern with small monokuma shapes carved into it. Creepy. I put the dagger down and cover it back up with the cloth. No way was I gonna use it.

Once the weapon is put away, I flop back down onto my bed and shut my eyes. These past few days have been the strangest and scariest of my life. I just hope we get home soon…

Before I know it, I've fallen back asleep on top of my covers.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 Day 2

**"Rise and shine, everyone! It's 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Get up and greet the day!"**

My eyes shoot open as soon as I hear the announcement, squinting at the light pouring through the window of my cottage. Was Monokuma gonna do that every morning? Did he do one at night, too? I could only assume as much, since I slept through both announcements yesterday.

I barely get enough time to really wake up before there's knocking on my door and a voice calling from behind it.

"Taaarrrruuuu!" Kenji yells from outside the door. "Are you awaaake?"

"Hotaru?" Another voice calls, softer. It sounds like Takumi. 

I groan quietly to myself and sit up in bed. "I'm up!" I call back, groggy. "Just..gimme a second.."

As quickly as I can, I get myself dressed and a little more presentable before I open the door. I'm greeted by Kenji, and Takumi, who's standing directly beside them. In fact, they're pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder. Well, they would be, save for the fact that Takumi's shoulder was closer to Kenji's elbow.

"Mornin’!” Kenji greets, waving furiously at me. "The rest of us are havin' breakfast at the hotel! We want you to join us!"

"Oh, uh.." I hesitate. Being around everyone at once again might be too much, but..I didn't want to refuse. "Sure."

"Yay!" Takumi grins. They lock elbows with Kenji. "Let's get going, then! They're all waiting on us." 

Kenji and Takumi quickly take off to get to the hotel before I could even think. They seem to be really close already…

I eventually catch up with the two and we make our way to the dining hall. Looks like almost everyone else is gathered here, sitting and talking as they ate. Well..everyone except for Ayako. He did seem pretty aloof..I'm not surprised that he didn't show up. I wouldn't be surprised if no one even invited him anyway..  
Kenji and Takumi sit down at the table where everyone is gathered, and I take a seat next to Kenji, who has moved their seat so it's right next to Takumi's. 

"You two are getting along pretty well," I comment, leaning in to look at the two.

"Well, of course!" Takumi waves a hand dismissively. "We're best friends, after all.."

"Huh?" I frown. "We've only been here a day.."

"Oh!" Takumi looks flustered. "S..Sorry. I don't know why I thought you knew. Kenji and I met through the internet a few years ago! I guess it's a little lucky that we're both here...well, unlucky.."

"I see," I smile at them. I'm glad they're able to find something good, even in a situation like this.

"Woah, that's incredible!" A voice from the other end of the table catches my attention.  
I look up to see Hibiki sitting next to Takara, who's scribbling something down in a notebook as the other boy watches.

"Heh..it's..nothing, really, you don't have to-" Takara starts, flushing a little.

"No, you're like, a genius!" Hibiki insists, shaking his head. His eyes are trained on the paper.

"Oh no, no, no.." Takara runs the back of his neck. "I'm not better than you, you don't need to say that.."

Hibiki suddenly takes the pencil away from him and starts adding something onto the paper. He stays concentrated on it, tongue poking out of his mouth. Then, he proudly sets the pencil down and shows Takara, who laughs softly.  
Hibiki seems to notice me looking, because he looks to me and holds up the notepad, wearing a grin. It looks like he's made nonsensical cartoon drawings out of some equations Takara was writing down.

"Yo, SuperNerd, you do all that math?" I quickly turn to see Miyako, arms folded over the table and leaning in to look at the notepad.

"Uh-..Me?" Takara looks over at her.

"Yeah, you're the math one, right?" Miyako tilts her head.

"Yes?" Takara furrows his brow.

"That's dope as fuck!" A grin settles onto her face. "I'm surprised I even passed fourth grade math. I can't even do long division anymore."

"It's not that impressive, really.." Takara rejects her compliment just as fast as he had Hibiki's. "I'm no better than you."

"Whatever you say, math whiz," Miyako shrugs and leans back in her seat now, kicking her feet up on the table.

I turn my attention to the other side of the table, where Ichiro looks to be peppering Chiyoko with questions. Chiyoko looks like she would rather be anywhere else than here.

"Is your father really as ruthless in court as they say he is?" Ichiro is leaning in just a bit too close to her, eyes wide. He's amazed by her..or maybe just with her family.

"That's not really something I can-" Before she can get another word in, Ichiro speaks again.

"How many siblings do you have? The Izumi family is incredibly expansive, no?"

Chiyoki closes her eyes and inhales deeply. "Ichiro, I'm really not-" 

"I've never heard anything of your mother, is-"

Chiyoko interrupts him this time, slamming a hand down on the table and finally turning to look at him. "Would you shut up?"

Ichiro freezes, eyes going wide. He opens his mouth to speak, but decides it's better not to.  
Yuuka, who's sitting across from her, speaks up. "H-Hey, Chiyoko, that isn't very-"

Chiyoko's glare turns to Yuuka now, and she immediately goes quiet. Chiyoko just scowls, then pushes her chair out and walks away from the table.

"Oh, goodness, I said too much, didn't I?" Ichiro looks incredibly embarrassed. He buries his face in his hands.

"Geez, what a bitch.." I hear Ikirashi mumble from next to Yuuka. "You okay, Yuuka? She looked like she was about to murder someone." She pauses. "Er-..no, sorry. Bad choice of words."

"I'm fine…" Yuuka just sighs, looking down at her lap. 

"That's good!" Ikirashi immediately smiles, and wraps Yuuka up in a big hug. She gasps and I see her face flush.

"A-Ah!" She stammers, surprised. "Iki..!"

"Aha.." Iki laughs, slowly pulling away. "Sorry. Should've asked first."

Looks like they're getting pretty close too.  
I feel someone brush up behind me, and I turn to see Kenji, who I guess I didn't notice leave the table. They place a mug next to me at the table, and sit down with their own. I turn and raise an eyebrow at them.

"Coffee," They explain with a small smile. "Thought you might need some."

I return the smile, reaching for the sugar that Kenji put on the table. They've already gotten to work at putting way too much creamer in their own cup. I can't help but chuckle.

The crowd starts to thin out as people finish eating breakfast. Most people leave in pairs- I see Miyako drag Hachiro out, Hibiki wants to show Takara something, and Takumi and Kenji leave to hang out in Kenji's cottage. Everyone else leaves on their own. Ayako still hasn't shown up yet.

Someone taps on my shoulder as I finish off my coffee, and I turn to see Ikirashi standing behind me, holding Yuuka's hand and wearing a grin. 

"Hotaru!" She greets. "Yuuka 'nd I are gonna go to that clothing store on the left street. Do you wanna come with? Your style is so cool, we thought you might be able to help us." She giggles.

"Oh, uh..sure," I shrug. It isn't like I have anything better to do, and I shouldn't be isolating myself this whole time. 

"Sweet!" Both girls smile at me, and Iki practically drags Yuuka to the door. I quickly turn to catch up with them.

All three of us are stopped in our tracks as someone comes into view in the doorframe of the dining hall. Iki and Yuuka just barely manage to avoid running straight into Ayako. He stares at us and raises an eyebrow.

"You three are in a hurry," He walks in the door, and stops just in front of us to look back as he talks. "What's the rush? We'll be stuck here for quite a while."

"H-Huh?" Yuuka stammers.

"We've looked everywhere for exits, and there aren't any," He says bluntly, arms crossed. His mouth is covered, but I can hear the smirk in his voice. "Unless someone actually takes the bait and kills, we're trapped. Take some time to stop and smell the roses, huh?" He clocks his head slightly to one side.

"Well, we will be trapped if you're talking like that!" Iki huffs. She hasn't let go of Yuuka's hand. "And no one's gonna kill! That's just stupid!"

"Whatever you say.." Ayako hums. "I don't have time for childish games. All I'm saying is hoping for escape at this point is meaningless." 

He walks further into the dining hall before any of us can get a word in.

"Geez, what an asshole," Iki grumbles. She quickly shakes off her bad mood, though. "Whatever! Let's just get going."

"Yeah..yeah!" Yuuka perks up a bit, too.

I struggle to keep up with Yuuka and Iki's pace as we walk down the street to the store. Iki asks dozens of questions about Yuuka's talent as we walk, which she answers with extreme modesty.

We enter the store, and I finally get the chance to look around. There's no other people in sight(no surprise there), and it somehow looks even bigger on the inside. There are racks and racks of different types of clothes, all arranged by color and style. It's a little scary seeing such a big place so empty…

Iki has already run over to one of the racks and pulled out a couple pieces of clothing. "Yuuka! These would look so cute on you! Come look!"

Yuuka makes her way over, and I follow. Iki is holding up a thick winter-themed sweater and a long skirt. She's grinning ear to ear. I can tell she really wants Yuuka to try it on.

"Ah..these are kinda cute.." Yuuka says sheepishly, taking the clothes from her. She looks down at them for a few seconds before ducking into a changing room to try them on.

She takes a little while to get changed, but she eventually walks out and does a little spin for the both of us. In the process, though, she manages to trip over her own feet and nearly falls over. Iki quickly moves forward to catch her, arms wrapped around her waist.. Yuuka looks up at her with a flushed face and embarrassed expression.

"Guess you're more graceful on the ice, huh?" Iki laughs, and Yuuka laughs along with her.

I spend a while with Iki and Yuuka, mostly watching them try on clothes. Iki thinks anything looks good on Yuuka, so I have to be the brutally honest one. I don't end up trying anything on myself- I haven't exactly been put in the mood to go shopping and there isn't much I like, anyway. But it is fun to watch the two pepper each other with compliments and show off the outfits they've created. Yuuka seems much less nervous around Ikirashi, and I can tell she's starting to open up.

Just as Ikirashi is putting away the last thing she tried on, we’re interrupted by a familiar sound. The monitor inside the store flickers on at the sound of the bell, and Monokuma appears on screen. My stomach drops to the floor.

**"Hello citizens!" He greets cheerily. "Listen..I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I'm bored! But I have just the thing to shake things up!"**

"E-Everyone...please gather...in the town hall.." Nakukuma stammers from behind him. He's barely in frame.

"Oh no.." Yuuka drops the shirt she was holding, her mouth going slightly agape. 

"This can't be good," Iki shakes her head, angrily putting away the sweater she had in her hand. She quickly makes her way over to Yuuka and takes her hand. "Let's just get it over with."

I walk with Ikirashi and Yuuka all the way to the town hall, my nerves only growing the closer we get. What were they planning..? What did he mean "shake things up?"

We're some of the last people to arrive at town hall. I look around to decide on a seat and notice Kenji frantically waving me over. I assume I won't really be able to refuse, so I take a seat next to them. Takumi is sitting on their other side, which doesn't surprise me.

Everyone piles into the town hall, some talking in nervous whispers and some people going completely quiet all together. The tension is heavy enough to make me uneasy. I feel my leg start bouncing in an attempt to calm my nerves.

The second everyone is settled in, the house lights go dim, and the stage lights turn on. Just as he appeared before, Monokuma appears out of nowhere and is on the stage.

"Hello, everyone!" He announces cheerily. “I hope you’re all doing well! Aaactually, I don’t.” He huffs, hopping off the podium. “I’m really bored with you all. No murder at all! Barely any conflict! Where’s the fun?”

“What exactly is ‘fun’ about us slaughtering each other?” Kaori retorts calmly, but firmly.

“That’s what this whole thing is about!” Monokuma answers with the same tone. “I want gore! Guts, blood, tears!!”

“Just get to the point, you fucking weirdo!” Shiori shouts.

“Fine, fiiine..” Monokuma sighs. “What I have for you all is...well, call it a motive! A motive to get this show on the road!” He disappears again behind the podium and shuffles something around. When he returns, he’s holding a stack of envelopes. He tosses them into the air. 

One lands by my feet, and I look down. My name is written on it...I gingerly pick it up, and everyone else does the same. Monokuma speaks up again as we do.

“Written on these envelopes are your deepest, darkest secrets!” He explains. “But your envelope contains more than just your own secret! It also contains the secret of one randomly selected citizen! But...they aren’t named! Good luck trying to figure out who’s secret you got!”

I wince, slowly opening my envelope.

_Hotaru Misaki has directly disobeyed law enforcement orders while helping them with a case._

_[REDACTED] has cheated during a performance of their talent._

“Wh-What the fuck?” I look up to see Miyako, standing and clutching her envelope tightly to her chest. “How do you know this shit? What are you gonna do with it?!”

“I was just getting to that!” Monokuma seems...way too excited. “For every 6 hours that no murder occurs, I will be revealing one secret at a time!”

Four secrets per day...in just four days, everyone’s darkest secrets will be revealed if no one kills. Mine was nothing to kill over, and I wasn’t really interested in figuring out who’s secret I had, but…

“Certainly these are nothing to kill over,” I hear Chiyoko scoff, putting her note back in her envelope and putting it in the pocket of her skirt.

“Maybe your secret isn’t,” Monokuma turned to face her. “But there are some dangerous individuals here, and we can’t have them running around, can we?”

“Th...This is stupid!” Ichiro stammers. “We could never kill over something this stupid!”

“Whatever you say~!” Monokuma hums. “Well, I’ll leave you all with that! Have a wonderful day and happy killing!”

I feel myself stumbling backwards a bit. I don’t even remember standing...I quickly take in a deep breath. Not again. I can do this. No one’s secret can be that bad, right..? Not enough to kill over. Even if someone had a dangerous secret, there’s no way whoever has it could be able to assume who it belongs to, not in a way that wasn’t drastic. 

My secret isn’t really that bad, either. Sure, it’s not exactly something I would want anyone to figure out, but I would never consider killing for it. Hopefully whoever I have wouldn’t kill over theirs, either.

I spend the rest of the day wandering around the town, no idea what to do. Everyone is too on edge, and hanging around them doesn’t really sound great. When it starts to get dark, I return to my cottage and shower and start getting ready for bed. 

When I’m out of the shower, I find myself staring at my wall as I sit on my bed in total silence. I let water run down my face, too tired and too worried to care. I don’t know how long I sit there, my thoughts and heart racing. But I eventually manage to crawl into bed and shut off the lights.

I must have zoned out longer than I thought, because as soon as my head hits the pillow, I hear the nighttime announcement.

**“It is now 10 PM, which means that nighttime has begun! It has also been six hours since the motive was revealed, which means, I’ll be revealing a secret at random!”**

I hear something that sounds like a prize wheel spinning. I can’t be sure, though, since my eyes are closed and I’m facing away from the monitor.

**“Upupu!! Our first secret belongs to Hotaru Misaki, who has disobeyed and betrayed the trust of law enforcement while working with them!”**

_Shit._

That was all I could think before I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind I will only trigger warning more gruesome events and common triggers. Nearly all of the violence is canon-typical for Danganronpa, so if I ever cross that boundary or push that boundary, I will give a warning! 
> 
> Also, my use of both she and they pronouns for Kaori in this chapter is intentional! Both are acceptable pronouns to use for them.

The next morning, I'm awoken not by the nighttime announcement, but a different one.

**"Sorry to interrupt you light sleepers, but I've gotta keep my bear's honor! It's been six hours since our last reveal! This person must be lucky! Less people are gonna hear this secret.."**

I groan as the announcement jolts me awake. Six hours already, huh..? That means it's four AM… My eyelids are so heavy..I should just go back to sleep, but my curiosity is too strong. It isn't a particular hobby of mine to know everyone's deepest secrets, but I can't help wanting to know.

I hear that prize wheel sound again. **"This secret belongs to...Akio Fuyuko! Aw, this one isn't very fun….the worst Akio's done is cheat on a test during junior high!"**

I almost feel bad that the secret wasn't worse..like Monokuma said, there are less people awake to hear it. Oh well, I guess…

I sleep for so long that I miss the morning announcement by a half hour. And Kenji doesn't come to wake me up, either...Maybe they did, but I slept through that as well. That's a little hard to believe, though- Kenji's voice is probably louder than Monokuma's announcements. 

I sigh and roll out of bed. Less than three hours, and another secret will be revealed...mine's out of the way, but that doesn't make me less worried. The others could have something really awful...something they might kill to keep secret…

No. It'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen to us, this isn't worth killing over. Despite that..I can't stop thinking about what Ayako said yesterday….Unless someone actually takes the bait and kills, we're trapped. Either we're stuck here forever, or someone kills and escapes on their own…

I quickly shake off the thought. It's fine. We're all going to be fine.

I leave my cabin to go to the hotel. I don't know if we're meeting there every day, but I need to eat regardless. As soon as I step out of my cottage, there's someone walking right by. I barely react fast enough to dodge Ayako as he passes, and he stops in his tracks to look at me.

"..Good morning, Hotaru," He greets, monotone. 

"Good..morning?" I respond.

"I had your secret," He says bluntly, already turning to keep walking.

"Wait, what?" I reel slightly and follow after him. 

"I had your secret," He repeats. "I had a feeling it was you. You or Chiyoko."

I blink a few times, processing it. "..Okay? Guess it's out of the way now."

Ayako shrugs. "You seem like the type, anyway."

He walks away before I can get another word in. He sure seems to do that a lot…. _Wait, I seemed like the type to what?_ Disregard authority?

I make it to the dining hall without running into anyone else. The air is..tense, and the silence hanging over the town seems quieter. Soon enough everyone's deepest secrets would be revealed..or someone would die. We don't have any good options in front of us.

The crowd in the dining hall is a bit smaller today. Ayako isn't there, but I expected that. Iki and Yuuka are also absent, as well as Chiyoko. I take a seat next to Kenji, who waves enthusiastically. Their energy doesn't do much for the tense atmosphere. I fold my hands on the table, and barely notice that I start fidgeting with them.

"Um..excuse me?" I hear someone ask from the other side of the table. It's Akio, looking so nervous I'm worried he'll pass out. "...Did..ah..did any of you have my secret? You don't-...don't have to tell if you don't want, I just-"

"I have it," Kaori cuts into his rambling. 

“Oh…” Akio nods, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Just wanted to know..” Though he’s visibly anxious, he seems a little more comfortable knowing who had his secret. I haven’t actually spoken to Kaori much, but they have a comforting presence. Though I can't quite put my finger on the reason...

"I was honestly surprised that was your biggest secret," Kaori continues. "It's nothing compared to what the rest of us must have...but maybe that's a good thing for you. You don't have much to hide. You're trustworthy."

For an Ultimate Public Speaker, Kaori sure got straight to the point..

"Oh, you...think so?" Akio asks in honest surprise. "..Thank you."

"Of course," Kaori nods. "You haven't done anything to warrant any suspicion...which I unfortunately can't say for everybody here."

Akio looks like he doesn't know how to respond. "Um. Yeah."

I lean back in my seat, and Kenji turns and whispers something to me. "..There's a few people missing..do you think anyone..?"

I hesitate. "I...probably not, but.." I whisper back. "..I saw Ayako on my way here. He's accounted for. I can't speak for the rest.."

"I'm gonna go look," They sound serious, which is..alarming, considering how I've seen them act since we first got here. 

I sigh as Kenji stands and walks out, resting my cheek in my hand. This place has been scary since day one, but..now the threat feels serious. And Kenji's worries aren't making mine any better.

"I think I'm going to go to the library to clear my mind," I hear Kaori announce as they stand up. "You're all welcome to join me, if you want."

"I'll come," I respond too quickly, sitting upright. I really need a distraction, and I haven't really gotten the chance to check out the library, anyway. 

Kaori simply nods, pushing in their seat and making their way to the door. I follow close behind, giving a quick wave to everyone else before catching up.

The two of us walk in silence for a while. It's a comfortable silence, but I can't help but be tense.

"Can I ask you something?" Kaori asks as we make our way onto the main street. 

"Sure," I nod. I wasn't really expecting her to say anything.. "What's up?"

"..Did Monokuma leave a weapon in your room?"

"Huh?" I blink. "Oh, uh...he did. Did you get one of those weird daggers, too?"

"A dagger?" Kaori shakes their head. "No. I have a vial of poison...I've had it since the first day. Just an extra motive to kill, I suppose.."

"That must mean we all have something different.." I conclude. "Well..maybe not, but there's some variety, at least."

"Maybe.." Kaori ponders. They push the library door open and step inside, and I follow. 

The inside of the library is just as large as it is on the outside. The bookshelves on the first floor reach the ceiling, and they're equally as tall on the second floor. Every book in existence might be here…looks like there's even a basement with archives and research files. 

Kaori walks inside, looking around and humming softly. Their eyes drift to the basement stairs, and they paus. “...Oh. Good.”

“Good?” I couldn’t make out their tone. “Is that what you wanted to come here for?”

Kaori nods. “Yes. I saw it the other day, but I didn’t want to go alone...are you comfortable looking with me? I’m just worried I might find something dangerous, or that it’s perhaps a trap..”

“That’s an understandable fear..” I nod, brushing some hair behind my ear. “I’ll go with you.”

Kaori smiles gratefully and starts walking to the staircase. I follow close behind, though...my heart is pounding. I hadn’t even thought that it might be dangerous…

I catch myself holding my breath as we walk down the staircase. The stairs seem..weirdly hollow. They make loud _clunk_ noises with each step we take. Kaori searches for a lightswitch as we reach the bottom, and they eventually find it and switch it on. The light flickers a few times before turning on, illuminating the room with a dull yellow glow. There’s only an exposed incandescent bulb...how old is this library? 

The basement smells like dust and cardstock, and isn’t very big. Kaori wanders over to a big file cabinet against the leftmost wall. They pull open a drawer at random and immediately start leafing through the files. I start wandering the bookshelves nearby. The books look like they haven’t been touched in years. Some of them don’t even have titles. Just as I’m reaching to pull a book from the shelf, I hear something move nearby. I jump and turn around to look at Kaori, who’s still right where they were. Slowly, carefully, I make my way over to them and stand beside them.

“Kaori…” I whisper, keeping my eyes trained on the source of the sound. “..I think there’s someone here…”

Kaori whips around quickly, looking where I am. They remain silent.

I squint my eyes, trying to make anything out in the dim light. Suddenly, there’s a loud crash. Sounds like a book hitting the floor. Then, there’s more movement. My eyes dart around the room as my breathing quickens. There’s the sound of some papers scattering, and then…

_“Hey!”_

I jump, and I can hear Kaori get startled as well. I find myself throwing my arm out in front of them protectively.

Before either of us can make out who jumped out, they start laughing and walking into the light. Miyako steps into view, practically doubled over cackling.

“Ohohoooooh my god!!” She laughs, just barely able to catch her breath. “You two should see how you look! That was- aha! That was fuckin’ _funny.”_

“Miyako,” Kaori’s neutral tone and expression return as they slowly move my arm away. “That wasn’t funny. What are you doing here?”

Miyako immediately stops laughing and pouts at Kaori. “Geez, what a buzzkill. I’m here ‘cause Hachiro wanted to come here, and I wanted to follow.”

“Hachiro?” I ask. 

As I speak, someone else sheepishly slinks out of the shadows, tugging at his scarf. Hachiro gives a nervous wave and stands beside Miyako. “Yeah…”

“I told ya you should’ve come out with me!” Miyako looks to Hachiro, placing her hands on her hips. “You missed a good, classic prank!”

“I _told you_ you shouldn’t have scared them…” Hachiro mutters with a slight sigh. Then, he looks at Kaori and I. “Sorry about that...I tried to stop her…”

“Aw, not you too!” Miyako groans. “I let you drag me to a dusty ol’ library and you won’t even let me have a little fun?”

Now that I think of it, Miyako definitely isn’t one to hang around in a library’s basement. “What _did_ you come down here for, Hachiro?”

“Oh, well…” Hachiro explains with a nervous laugh. “I saw this archive room the first time I looked, but I was too nervous to go alone…”

“So I offered to tag along!” Miyako grins wide, wrapping one arm around Hachiro and pulling him in close. A little too close.

“Aheh..yeah..” I can almost see him blush a little. “I just thought...maybe I’d have better luck with older books if I wanted to find more reliable texts related to my talent…”

“That makes sense,” I nod, watching Miyako ruffle Hachiro’s hair as he laughs and tries to pull away from her arms.

The four of us spend the next few hours together in the library. Only a little bit of time is spent in the basement. Hachiro picks out a few of the dusty volumes from the shelves, Kaori takes a thorough look around, and then we go to the main library. As the rest of us scan the shelves, Miyako throws herself over furniture, clings onto Hachiro, and complains about how boring we are. Hachiro eventually leads her to the manga section and gets her to sit still for a while. I’m actually a little surprised by how quickly and quietly she absorbs the pages.

Just as we’re planning to leave, the monitors in the library flicker to life and an announcement blares.

 **”Hello, citizens!!!”** I had gotten so absorbed in hanging out with everyone that I nearly forgot about the motive.. **”It is 10am, which meeeeans….! It’s time for another secret reveal!”** This time, I can actually look at Monokuma to see him spinning a roulette wheel with pictures of our faces on it. It slowly rolls to a stop at...Hachiro’s face. **”Hachiro Kazuki! Who ran away from his single mother at age 12!”**

I can’t help but turn around to look at Hachiro. It’s rude, I know, but..knowing how comfortable he is might give me some insight as to how to help him. His scarf is pulled up to his nose and he’s looking to the side, face flushed red. Miyako quickly drops the book she was holding and rushes over to him.

“Hey, don’t worry about it!” She reassures nonchalantly. “We’ve all got something to hide! Who needs moms, anyway?”

Hachiro doesn’t say anything, but doesn’t actively reject Miyako’s attempts. I share a look with Kaori, and we both share the silent understanding that now is a good time to leave.

We only get a few feet away from the library before we run into someone else. Ichiro stops in his tracks right before bumping into us, stumbling back slightly and laughing in embarrassment.

“Ah!” He exclaims, recovering his balance and fixing his glasses. “So sorry. I was just making my way to the library in search of some sheet music…”

Kaori looks behind them at the library, frowning. “It’s maybe not such a good idea to go there right now...Miyako is in there comforting Hachiro.”

“Oh,” Ichiro’s expression drops. “I see..”

“Would you like to do something with us?” Kaori offers before even knowing what we were going to do next. “It’s a little early, but..maybe we could make lunch? Take the extra time to make something a little more complicated.

“You would let me help?” Ichiro questions. He seems surprised they even offered. “Well..sure! I’m no good at cooking, but I might be able to remember, uh, the ingredients to my mother’s sushi..”

“Sushi sounds good,” Kaori smiles, ever so softly. “I know how to make it, so you don’t have to worry about remembering anything.”

They could cook, too? More than just simple meals? Was there anything Kaori couldn’t do? They’re younger than me and already capable of way more than I am…

Ichiro and I don’t end up being much help in the kitchen, but collectively the three of us manage to make some sushi. Kaori is just as skilled as I expected, and they’re much more skilled in cooking than one might expect a high schooler to be. The sushi turns out really well, but I end up drowning mine in soy sauce anyway. It tastes exactly how I like it-almost entirely like salt.

“How did you learn how to make sushi so well, Kaori?” Ichiro asks in genuine amazement. 

“Well, my father is a chef and my mother wasn’t home very much when I was a child..” Kaori explains with little hesitation. “So he taught me how to cook so I could take care of myself and help him out when he needed it.” Another little smile falls on their face. “And I liked making sushi because I could sneak some fish to my cats.”

“That’s sweet, Kaori,” I comment after finishing off my last piece. Despite the soy-sauce-hell, I can still kind of taste the rest of the flavors, and they’re amazing. “Holy _shit,_ this is great.”

“..Hotaru, you’re the Ultimate Strategist, correct?” Ichiro suddenly changes the subject, looking at me. “You’ve worked professionally for your talent?”

“..Yeah?” I frown. “Why do you ask?”

“..Why do you…” He trails off, clearly unsure how to phrase his question. “Why do you compose yourself...the way you do? I mean, your fashion choices, your language….”

“Is there..something wrong with how I speak and talk?” I furrow my brow. That isn’t the first time I’ve been questioned for the way I act in correlation to my talent, but...never by another Ultimate student. “I can still work perfectly fine professionally.”

“I’m sure you do, but…” Ichiro continues. “Do you think you might be more successful if you were a little more like...I don’t know...Chiyoko? She’s very professional at all times.”

“I don’t think appearance or conduct outside of professional settings is a factor in someone’s professionalism,” Kaori butts in. “One of the most brilliant and powerful speakers I know has bright red hair and a studded leather jacket.”

“I..suppose that’s true, but I really think…”

“I think I’m gonna go,” I butt in before Ichiro can get another word in. I’m getting uncomfortable. “Thank you for the sushi, Kaori.” I quickly stand from the table, pick up my plate, and rush to the kitchen to put it away.

_What the hell was that? Why does he care so much about what I do with myself? Why am I so angry? Why did I just leave Kaori with him? Dammit dammit dammit dammit._

I leave the hotel, bothered and uncomfortable, my hands shoved in my pockets and my eyes downcast. Today has been so weird. I don’t know what to do or how to feel. This motive is shaking me up more than I’d like to admit...someone is likely to have a secret they’re willing to kill over. Plenty of us have already had our secrets revealed, but...there’s 16 of us. There’s still a lot more to go.

“Taaaarruuuu!” Someone’s yelling knocks me out of my trance, and I quickly look up to see Kenji running towards me full speed. They stop right in front of me, and I swear I hear their heels scrape on the sidewalk. “I’ve barely seen you all day, bud! How’re you holding up?”

“Fine?” I respond with a shrug. “As fine as any of us can be.”

“That’s all we can hope for, huh?” Kenji smiles brightly at me. “Do you wanna go hang out in Kumi’s dorm with us? They’re giving me a tarot reading.”

“Oh, um...sure,” I shrug. I’m getting a little worn down from being around everyone so much, but Kenji sounds too excited for me to refuse.

I follow Kenji to Takumi’s dorm. They’ve already set out a deck of cards on their bed, where they’re sitting cross-legged. Kenji excitedly pulls their desk chair to the side of the bed.

I silently watch Takumi give Kenji a couple readings. They give them one for a specific question, a relationship, and their entire year. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but judging by Kenji’s reactions, the readings are pretty accurate.

Eventually, the three of us just start talking. Luckily, Kenji dominates the conversation so I don’t have to do much talking.

 **”It is now 4 pm! Time for yet another secret reveal!!”** I sigh. It’s impossible to keep up a good mood with this motive.. The roulette wheel spins. **”Shiori Kyo! She broke someone’s arm for bullying her little sister!”**

Geez...That wasn’t the worst secret anyone could have, but it’s not great. I hope Shiori is doing okay. I feel like I don’t know her well enough to predict how she would react…

The room falls tense, so I take it as an opportunity to just head back to my dorm. I’m absolutely exhausted, and really need some time alone. 

As I enter my dorm, I’m greeted with a pleasant surprise. There’s a book sitting on my desk, with a slip of paper on it. I slowly walk over and sit down to read what it says.

_Hello,_

_I brought you the book you started earlier in the library. I could tell you were getting uncomfortable in the dining hall and thought you might want some time alone with your thoughts. Or perhaps a distraction. Either way, feel better and rest well._

_-Kaori Ryuu_

I smile. Kaori’s handwriting is neat, small, and easy to read. I fold the note and put it on my pocket. Once I’m propped up on my bed and comfortable, I pick up the book and crack it open to the page I left on. It’s a pretty long book, so it can keep me occupied for a while.

I must have been much more absorbed in the book than I thought, because I’m snapped out of my trance by someone knocking on the door. I jump slightly, shutting the book and sitting up quicker than I meant to. I run to the door and open it to find Kenji standing there, holding a plate of a sandwich and chips.

“I brought you dinner!” They grin. “Thought you prolly didn’t feel like joining everyone at the dining hall, so I made you somethin’.”

“Thank you,” I gratefully take the plate and nod at them. Once the door is closed, I take the chance to look at the clock. It’s 7 o’clock. Only three hours until nighttime...and the next secret.

I spend the rest of the night eating the dinner Kenji brought and reading more of my book. By the time I’m about three quarters of the way through, the announcement plays yet again.

 **”Okay, okay, okay! It’s time for another secret!!”** I can’t help but groan despite expecting it. **”This secret belongs to….Ikirashi Aida! Who left her childhood best friend behind! How sad! Well...goodnight everyone!”**

I clean off my bed and get ready for a restless night’s sleep. Another secret...either everyone’s terrible secrets will be released...or someone will die before they can get to finish. My heart is pounding, but I’m so exhausted….as I slowly drift off into sleep, I notice something as I stare at my dresser.

There’s only a cloth there.

 **”Good morning, Good morning!!”** Monokuma’s voice rings cheerfully through my room, pulling me from my fitful sleep. **”Time to greet another day! Let’s go!”**

I groan, sitting up and stretching my arms. Since the morning announcement just went off, that means it’s 7 AM. I wonder what the next secret will…

7 AM? Didn’t the secret announcements go off at 4 and 10? Every six hours, right? I was sleeping so terribly, there’s no way I could have just slept through it. So that means…

_Shit._

I quickly scramble out of bed and rush to get my shoes on. _Shit shit shit shit._ Before I can even think any harder about it, I bolt out the door. I keep running as I make my way down the main street, panicked and looking around everywhere. A few other people are outside, some looking just as worried as I am. I don’t have to run far before I notice something wrong. I stop at the fountain. The streams of water are turned off, and pink stains ruin the otherwise beautiful marble. 

As I inhale sharply and walk closer, I notice something floating in the water. With one arm draped over the side of the fountain, blood covering her upper body, and a frozen expression of fear on her face, is a corpse. I easily recognize the small figure and icy blue hair.

Yuuka Mizushima, the Ultimate Figure Skater, is dead.


	5. Chapter 5

I’m completely frozen. I can’t move a muscle in my body. My breath hitches, my eyes glued on the scene in front of me. _She couldn’t really be dead, right? I’m dreaming, right?_ I stumble backwards, just barely able to catch myself.

Someone runs up to my side, and I can only hear them. I’ve got tunnel vision focused only on Yuuka’s corpse.

"Holy shit…" I hear Shiori mutter breathlessly from beside me. “Holy _shit!”_

“What’s going on? What’s-” Akio runs beside us, then stops when he catches sight of the corpse. He gasps, slapping a hand over his mouth. “...No…”

 _Bing bong ding dong…_ A chime sounds from the loudspeakers. **”A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, the class trial will commence! Get investigating! Everybody make your way to the fountain on main street!”**

Only then does it really hit me. Yuuka is really dead. We’re really going to hold a trial for our lives. _Someone killed someone._

“YUUKA! Where are you?”

The yelling from behind me startles me out of my trance, and I whip around to see Ikirashi running full speed, anxiously looking around to find Yuuka. Oh no… She notices the three of us, and then notices the fountain. She pauses for just a second before bolting to the fountain, practically barreling Akio over before just stopping dead in her tracks about a foot from the fountain. She’s breathing so heavily I can hear her, and her eyes are wide. I see her legs start shaking, and in a second she’s collapsed, kneeling on the ground. Her expression of shock is unwavering, frozen in place.

“Yuu...ka…” She mumbles, barely audible. She’s paralyzed…

“What happened?” Ichiro is still tugging on his suit jacket as he rushes from his cottage to the crime scene. “Monokuma said there was a body, and I…” He falls silent as he takes in the scene. “..oh…”

The others start to file in, one after another. Everyone is equally shocked and upset by the corpse. Well..almost everyone. Chiyoko is..indifferent, and Ayako almost seems excited. 

“So the game begins..” He hums thoughtfully. “As I expected..”

“Don’t say that!” Ayako’s words are what seem to snap Iki out of her daze of grief. “Don’t you dare fucking say that! Someone is dead! Dead! Yuuka didn’t deserve to die for some stupid game..” 

Iki turns her attention back to the corpse. She pulls herself close enough to the fountain to get a good look at Yuuka. She carefully laces one hand with Yuuka’s dangling over the side, and she kneels higher to reach into the fountain. She’s got an arm wrapped around Yuuka’s waist, and she pulls as hard as she can.

“H-...Here, I can help-” Shiori offers.

“No!” Iki shouts, her voice shaky and full of tears. “No..don’t touch her…”

We all watch in complete silence as Iki pulls Yuuka’s body from the fountain. She very gently cradles her bridal style, tears slipping down her cheeks. Then, suddenly, she pulls Yuuka’s corpse into a big hug and breaks down sobbing. None of us know what to do...so we stay silent, unable to look away.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Chiyoko is, unfortunately, the first one to break the silence as she walks over to stand behind Iki. “We have a murder to solve. You can mourn your friend of three days later.”

Iki only grips onto Yuuka more tightly, shaking her head. “No! No. I’m not letting any of you touch her..”

“Iki..” I say softly, trying to sweeten Chiyoko’s order. “We have to do this. If we can’t figure out who killed her..they’ll get away with it and we’ll all day. Please, Iki...you can stay near the body if it makes you feel better. But we have to do this..”

Iki takes a second to even respond. But slowly, ever so slowly, she relaxes her grip on Yuuka and nods with a sniff. “..Okay.”

“U-Um…” A voice comes from the fountain. We all look over to see Nakukuma standing on the side of the fountain, looking nervous as always. "Ex-Excuse me…….Monokuma wanted you all….t-to check your monopads…! Because..! There is som… something i-important..! There! The Monokuma file!"

"Hm..?" I mumble, pulling out my monopad. Sure enough, there's something new when I switch it on. Looks like an autopsy report…

_Monokuma File 01  
The victim is Yuuka Mizushima.  
The time of death is approximately 3:37 AM.  
The cause of death is blood loss.  
The body was discovered in the Main Street fountain._

By the time I look up from the file, Nakukuma is gone. Weird…

Everyone starts to go off their separate ways to investigate, though some just move away and start talking in hushed whispers. I turn my attention back to Iki, who's still kneeling on the ground. Yoshiki has taken to rubbing her back and muttering quiet words of comfort to her. Poor girl… As Yoshiki tries to calm Iki down, Shiori carefully pulls Yuuka out of her arms and lays her gently on the ground. I slowly walk to stand next to her.

"..God…" Shiori mumbles. "She didn't deserve this..she was such a sweet girl.."

"Yeah.." I sigh. But there's no time to look back on what's been done. We need to investigate. I carefully kneel down to inspect Yuuka's body. The frown on my face grows as I notice what she's wearing. It's one of the dresses she got from her shopping trip with Ikirashi. She must have been wearing it as a nightgown..

I go to look for a fatal wound. The file just said blood loss, but I can make a pretty good guess on how she was killed. Her upper body is completely bloodied, but I can make out the wounds. There are several small stab wounds in her chest, but it looks like the killer barely missed her heart and she just bled out. I can't even imagine what that would've been like for poor Yuuka…

I move to investigate the fountain. I take a little bit of a better look at the blood stains on the fountain from earlier. They all look to be near the spot where Yuuka’s body was. But..I notice another, smaller blood stain on the main structure of the fountain. It seems a little out of place… I do a quick sweep of the area around the fountain, and notice something shine under the light. Squinting my eyes, I kneel down to get a look at it. It’s..some shards of broken glass. They don’t look terribly thick, but they aren’t thin either. Huh.

The water has turned a muted, cloudy pink from what I can only presume is dirt and blood. As I squint to try and get a closer look, I notice something under the water. With a slight wince, I reach into the shallow water and carefully pull it out.

What I pull out is...a dagger. I was lucky enough to grab it by the handle. I take a closer look and my eyes go wide. There are incredibly intricate designs of monokuma on it. Without a doubt, this is the dagger that was in my room. It was missing last night, wasn't it..? Though I was so exhausted, I might have been seeing things… What the fuck?

There's something else under the water….farther away from where the dagger was. I pull it out of the water. It just looks like a normal kitchen knife...no fancy engravings or anything. Hm. I carefully put the weapons back where they were and look over my shoulder at Ikirashi and Yoshiki. Something different catches my eye, though.

There’s something on the barbed wire fence blocking the east street. I can’t tell what it is from here, but..I don’t think it was there the first time I saw it. I walk closer to investigate. It looks to be some scraps of something black. As carefully as I can, I pull one of the scraps from the barbed wire. It’s definitely fabric. Something nicer and sturdy, too..

Before I go, I make my way back over to Ikirashi and Yoshiki. Iki looks to have calmed down some, but clearly isn’t doing great. I take a deep breath.

“Iki..?” I ask, hesitating. “Can I ask you something?”

Iki just nods without even looking at me.

“When was the last time you saw Yuuka..?”

Iki inhales shakily. “I..I saw her..j-just last night. She was...Sh-Sh was spending the night in my cottage. I..fell asleep before she did..” She slaps a hand over her mouth to suppress a sob, and Yoshiki squeezes her shoulder.

“I..see,” I nod stiffly.

My next stop is Iki’s cottage. I should’ve asked for a key, just in case she locked it, but luckily it’s unlocked when I get there. The first thing that catches my eye is something on Iki’s nightstand. Once I get a closer look, I confirm that it’s the same kind of cloth that my dagger was held in. It has the exact same note, too. But there’s no indication of what kind of weapon was there. The only other thing out of place in Iki’s room is something in her trash. It’s the only thing there, and it kind of sticks out...I pull it out. It’s a crisp white envelope, ripped down the middle. When I put the two pieces next to each other, I can clearly read _Yuuka Mizushima._ This must be her secret...I decide not to read it and put it back in the trash. It’s better to let the dead lie.

Once I’m done with Iki’s cottage, I take a quick look in mine. Just as I expected, My dagger is missing, and I most certainly didn’t take it. Chances are I didn’t lock my door yesterday…

As I leave my cottage, something comes to mind. That knife in the fountain..where did it come from? There were knives in the hotel kitchen, right? I should check there. Right when I get to the hotel entrance, I run into someone. Akio seems more startled than usual, and it only gets worse when he runs into me without expecting it.

“O-Oh!” He stammers, tugging at his sweater. “Sorry...Hello, Hotaru.”

“Hey,” I say gently. Poor boy looks terrified out of his mind. As I look at Akio, something pops into my head. “Oh! Akio, do you mind if I ask you a quick question?”

“Um..sure?” He says hesitantly.

“In your cottage, do you have any extra pairs of glasses? Just in case you lose or break the pair you came here with?”

“Oh..yeah, I-I do,” He nods. “I also asked Nakukuma..um..if he could give me an extra pair of glasses just in case I ran out of extras, and he said he could.”

So he’d always be able to replace his glasses… “Okay. That’s all I needed, thank you.”

“Ye..Yeah, No problem.”

I enter the hotel and immediately make my way to the kitchen. I make sure to check every corner, even if I’m just looking for the knives. There isn’t anything else of notice...I take a good look at the knife block, but not a single one is missing. And knives aren’t stored anywhere else in the kitchen...so the one in the fountain is likely from somewhere else.

As I’m about to leave the hotel, I remember something. There’s a laundry room on the main floor of the hotel...and that might just be a good place to get rid of evidence.

I push open the door to the laundry room and am immediately overwhelmed by the smell of bleach. Someone was in a hurry to clean something… I try to follow the source of the smell, and my eyes fall upon a small pile of white fabric. It looks like just a few neatly folded towels, but..one of them looks weird. I pull them all out of the pile and sure enough, one of them isn’t a towel. And it reeks of bleach. I hesitantly unfold it and pick it up. It’s an almost perfectly neat, white collared shirt. Though..there’s a rip in the elbow of the left sleeve. It’s a pretty messy cut. The rest of the shirt is completely clean, though…

Just as I’m walking to the door of the laundry room, I notice one more thing. There’s something black stuffed into the trash can. I pull it out, and quickly recognize it as similar fabric to the one on the fence. It’s too tattered for me to really recognize it as any specific piece of clothing, though. And it looks like some of it is bloodied… with a small hum, I drop the fabric back into the trash and leave the laundry room.

An announcement sounds as I leave the hotel. **”Ahem! Have you all investigated thoroughly? I sure hope so! I’m getting bored! Sooo..it’s time for the class trial! Everybody gather at the clock tower at the end of Main Street!”**


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 Trial

All 15 of us gather at the clock tower. No one speaks. We’re about to put our lives on the line...and no matter what happens, someone will die. A chill runs down my spine at the thought. As I take a look around the group, I can tell everyone is having similar thoughts.

Just a minute or so after we all arrive, Monokuma appears right in front of the clock tower. “Hello, hello!” He greets cheerily, in spite of everyone’s tension. “It’s time for the first class trial. If you will just step into the elevator, we can make it to the trial room!”

“What elevator are you-”

Before Shiori can finish, Monokuma pulls out a remote with a single button on it and presses it. A huge door opens on the front of the clock tower, one I could have sworn wasn’t there before. And sure enough, it’s an elevator. A huge one, too. There’s more than enough space to fit all of us. 

Monokuma leaves, and we all shuffle onto the elevator in the same awkward silence. My stomach drops into the floor when the elevator begins to move up. This is really it, huh? It still doesn’t feel real.

The elevator finally stops, and the opposite side door opens up. It reveals a room that seems much bigger than the inside of a clock tower should be. Nonetheless, it is definitely in the clock tower, considering an entire wall _is_ the clock. The room is taken up mostly by a circle of podiums and a large throne at the wall opposite to the clock, where Monokuma has taken a seat. Nakukuma is seated at a podium right in front of the throne. Weird...

“Welcome, welcome!” Monokuma announces. “Please take your place at your respective podium so we may begin!”

As we step out and get closer, I realize that the podiums are labelled with our names. Standing in Yuuka’s place is a framed picture of her, hastily crossed out with an X. Creepy... I stand at my podium, and everyone else files in. 

"You all remember how this is going to work, right?" Monokuma asks the group. "Well, I'll explain again anyway! You'll all discuss to try and figure out who the killer is! If you get it right, only the killer, or the 'blackened', will be punished! But if you get it wrong, everyone else will be punished and the blackened will go free!"

“Where..should we begin?” Yoshiki breaks the silence first.

“No need,” Ayako responds immediately. “I already know who the killer is.”

“What?!” Miyako turns to look at him. “How? Who is it?”

Ayako’s chilling gaze moves to me. “Hotaru.”

“What?” I have to stop myself from choking on my own breath. “What could’ve _possibly_ made you think it’s me?”

“It is your dagger that was found at the crime scene, was it not?” Ayako questions with a hum. “No need to answer that. I checked your cottage and got confirmation from Kaori that the weapon you received from Monokuma was a dagger. What more evidence do we need?”

“This is ridiculous-” Before I can finish my sentence, someone cuts me off.

“I have serious doubt that this murder was Hotaru’s doing,” Kaori looks directly at Ayako, arms crossed. “The fact that her dagger was at the crime scene means nothing. There’s no other evidence against her, and anyone could’ve easily taken her dagger. Or perhaps someone else received a dagger from Monokuma.”

“Fine then,” Ayako scoffs. “Why don’t we go around and say who got what weapon, then we can see if anyone else had the same weapon. Not that it would matter. Hotaru’s weapon was missing, and she admitted to you that she had a dagger.”

“Hold on a sec,” Shiori cuts in. “Anyone could easily lie about their weapon. Besides, what does it matter? Plenty of us leave our doors unlocked, anyone’s weapon could have been stolen or swapped or somethin’.”

“Then why don’t we ask the person who put the weapons there in the first place?” Chiyoko pipes up, raising an eyebrow. “Monokuma?” She turns to look at the front of the room.

“Hm?” Monokuma tilts his head. “Whatcha need?”

“Did everyone receive different weapons?” Chiyoko asks calmly. “Are there any duplicate weapons?”

“Oh, yep!” Monokuma nodded. “Each weapon is special, and especially picked for each citizen! No dupes here!”

“Well, that gets one thing out of the way..” Hachiro sighs. “I don’t think we’re gonna get anywhere with this weapon thing. All we need to know is that Hotaru’s dagger was the murder weapon.”

I frown. We don’t know that for sure. “That’s..not right.”

“Hm?” Takumi tilts their head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“There are actually..two weapons involved in this case,” I look at Takumi, then back to Hachiro. “I found a kitchen knife in the water as well.”

“Woooah, double weapons!!” Miyako laughs. “We’re dealin’ with a dual wielder! They really gotta make sure their victim is dead! Stab stab!”

“Cut that out!” Iki yells, and Miyako grumbles, but shuts up.

“Gross..” Kenji mutters. “..Whatever! The killer used two weapons! What’s that gotta do with the case?”

“I..d-don’t think the killer used both weapons…” Akio shakes his head meekly. “Otherwise the way they fell in the fountain wouldn’t make sense. The dagger was on the left side, closer to Yuuka’s head..th..the other one was clear on the other end of the fountain. I-It’s close, but not close enough for it to logically make sense for..f-for the killer to have used both at the same time.”

“Then it may be beneficial to figure out which weapon was actually used to kill Yuuka,” Kaori concludes. 

Either is an option...Yuuka would’ve bled out from being stabbed that many times with either weapon. From what I saw, there’s no clear indication of either, and neither weapon had any blood on it because of the water…

“The knife, duh!” Hibiki speaks up, acting as if the answer was obvious. “Hotaru’s dagger is clearly a plant to frame her! The killer used _their_ weapon, the knife, to kill Yuuka, then took the dagger out of their pocket and dropped it near the body!” He grinned at us like he had just solved the puzzle of the century.

“That makes sense to me!” Takumi adds. “A kitchen knife seems way easier to...um...to stab someone with than a dagger, anyway..”

That doesn’t sound right...maybe the ease of a kitchen knife proves that it isn’t the murder weapon. The killer seemed to stab in every place except the right one…

“Um, Hibiki..” Takara raises one hand. “..The kitchen knife almost certainly wasn’t the murder weapon.”

“Oh?” Ichiro looks to Takara. “How can you be sure?”

“Well, I..” Takara clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. “...I tried to do as thorough a look at the corpse as I could, and got an approximate width of the wounds.”

“Woah, really?” Kenji looks at Takara in what can only be described as amazement. “What was it?”

“None of the wounds are any wider than about 30 millimeters,” Takara crosses his arms. “Kitchen knives are...much wider.”

“I believe we can trust Takara’s assumptions,” Chiyoko decides with a nod. “So that settles it. The dagger was the murder weapon. But why would the kitchen knife be there?”

“For this exact reason, probably…” Yoshiki answers, running her hands over her ponytail. “They thought they could use two weapons to confuse us and accuse the wrong person.”

“I think that makes sense,” I nod at Yoshiki.

“Then..where did they get the knife?” Takumi asks, furrowing their brow.

Before I can answer, Miyako does. “From the hotel kitchen, idiot! There’s a buncha knives in there! The killer stole one from the kitchen and used it to confuse us!”

“No, that’s not where the knife is from,” I quickly correct her. “I checked the hotel kitchen, and there wasn’t a single knife missing. Besides, the kitchen is closed after 10 PM.”

“..Oh,” Miyako slumps slightly. “Hehe, whoooopsie!” She instantly bounces back, sticking her tongue out just a little.

“Then I suppose _you_ know where the knife is from, hmm?” Chiyoko looks at me with an emotionless stare.

“Well, um..” I swallow. “..I think I know who got the knife from Monokuma.”

“Well, then who is it?” Chiyoko’s look shifts to an impatient one. 

I hesitate. Is this really worth saying…? It might endanger someone who’s already upset...but it’s a little too late to back out now.

I inhale sharply. “..Ikirashi, I think. The weapon in her cottage was also missing.”

My stomach churns as I see a smirk form on Chiyoko’s face. She ever so slowly turns to look at Iki. “Well, Ikirashi. I suppose you should’ve kept your door locked, hm?”

“Wh-” Iki’s eyes go wide. All of the energy in the room is centered on her now. “What the hell? Are you _actually_ accusing me right now? Are you kidding me?! I would never hurt Yuuka! Sh..She meant the _world_ to me, why on earth would I kill her?”  
“She meant the world to you, huh?” Ayako chuckles. “That is quite a bold statement considering you only knew her for a few days. Who’s to say that was not just a ruse to get her vulnerable? Poor Yuuka was practically defenseless, it would’ve been oh so easy to lure her in.”

“Cut that out!” Kenji shouts. “That’s the stupidest accusation I’ve ever heard. It just doesn’t make sense. Iki would never kill Yuuka!”

“She did admit to being the last person to see Yuuka alive…” Yoshiki mumbles, partly to herself.

“Shiki, not you too!” Iki groans in frustration. “I didn’t fucking kill her. Someone took the knife from my room and used it to frame me, too!”

“Then why, pray tell, did you not bring this up until now, hm?” Ayako isn’t buying it. “Surely you would have known the knife was yours when we brought it up, why wait for Hotaru to dig up the truth?”

“Exactly this reason!” Iki rubs at her eyes with the palms of her hands. “I didn’t want to be accused. And it didn’t seem relevant. Not to mention I wasn’t exactly in the right headspace to try and investigate a murder…”

This is getting us nowhere...there’s gotta be something I can use to prove it wasn’t Iki. Or at least something that’ll change the conversation. We can’t just throw out accusations without much evidence. What else did I find…

“The fabric,” I say aloud.

“..What?” Chiyoko turns her attention to me and raises an eyebrow.

“There was...some fabric, on the fence blocking the east street,” I explain, starting to feel nervous as everyone looks at me. “I found similar fabric in the trash can in the hotel laundry room. It was black fabric, kinda sturdy…”

“And Ikirashi doesn’t wear black!” Kenji finishes for me. “..Well, she has black tights. But..I don’t really think tights would catch in clumps, and they definitely aren’t sturdy.”

“Hmph,” Ayako scoffs, adjusting his mask. “...Fine, then. Ikirashi is off the hook for now. Hotaru, was there anything else you noticed about the fabric? Any idea what kind of garment it could have been from?”

“I, um..” I clear my throat in an attempt to swallow my nerves. “..I don’t know. But there was a lot of it. So it..was probably from something with more fabric…”

“Why would the fabric even be on the fence in the first place?” Hibiki asks. “I mean, the fence is waaaay far away from the fountain. There’s no way it could’ve accidentally been ripped off during the murder.”

“Maybe the killer was all like ‘oooh no, look at what I’ve done, this is so terrible!!’” Kenji answers in an over dramatic tone, acting as the killer. “And then they backed up all the way into the fence, and their clothes got caught on the fence and ripped!”

“I..don’t think that was it,” Hachiro gives Kenji a weird look. b4[[9[

“Wouldn’t backing into the fence electrocute the killer, anyway?” Shiori frowns. “That shit’s high-voltage!”

They’re right...there’s no reasonable way the killer could have accidentally ripped their clothes on that fence. It was too far away.

“..What if it wasn’t on accident?” I offer.

“Huh?” Takumi asks. 

“What if the killer intentionally ripped their clothes on the fence to make them unrecognizable?” I elaborate. “In the panic of the moment, they wouldn’t have a quick way to dispose of their wet and bloody clothes.”

“And even if they did, they would risk being caught if they went through the whole process of washing their clothes in the middle of the night,” Kaori nods. “I think that adds up.”

“The fabric in the laundry room was a little bloody, too,” I add. “So there’s no doubt that the clothes it belongs to were the killer’s.”

“There was something else in the laundry room,” Chiyoko starts. 

“Yeah, there was!” I back her up. “It was hidden in a stack of towels. The killer was definitely hoping we wouldn’t see it.”

“What was it?” Takara asks, brushing some hair from his face.

“It was..a shirt,” I begin. “A long-sleeved button up. White. It smelled like bleach, and a lot of it. And it had a cut in it, near the elbow.”

“I wouldn’t call it a cut as much as I would a slash,” Chiyoko corrects me. “There was also some blood on the floor and on the washing machine. More than just what might drip from bloodied clothes.”

How did I not notice that…? “..Yeah.” I just nod.

“Does that mean the killer got hurt?” Iki tugs on her cardigan. “How?”

“Well, from what we have, we can assume they got cut…” Ichiro hums. “Maybe they slipped while using the dagger?”

“On their arm?” Shiori puts her hands on her hips. “No way.”

“So..someone else cut them?” Takumi offers.

“Who, then?” Takara looks around.

How could the killer have gotten hurt..? If not from their own clumsiness, then…

“It was Yuuka.”

“Wh-What?” Iki looks at me. “Yuuka?”

“Yes,” I nod at her. “The killer definitely couldn’t have cut their own arm at that angle, only another person or thing could have done it. And..I think that person was Yuuka.”

“Are you suggesting she fought back, then?” Ayako questions. 

“...The knife!” Kenji snaps their fingers like they’ve got a great idea. “The knife! Yuuka used the knife to defend herself!”

“Didn’t we establish that the killer had the knife?” Yoshiki tapped a finger on her chin. “How would Yuuka get it? I doubt the killer would have it in a place she could grab. Even if they did, it is..unlikely Yuuka would have been able to grab it.”

I brush some hair from my face, thinking. She’s right...how would Yuuka get it in time? Where on earth would someone even keep a knife without holding it?

“Maybe the killer wasn’t the one who had the knife in the first place,” I propose, looking at everyone.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Iki scoffs quietly.

“Maybe…” I swallow hard. This is a bit of a bold assumption… “Maybe Yuuka had the knife the whole time. Maybe she was the one that took it from Iki’s cottage.”

Iki pauses, thinking. “..Well, I’m pretty sure the knife was there when Yuuka and I went to my cottage, and I locked the door before we went to sleep…”

“What the hell would she be walking around with a knife for, though?” Miyako scrunches up her nose. 

“The motive,” Kaori holds their pointer finger in the air. “Yuuka’s secret hadn’t yet been revealed.”

“Are you suggesting..” Ichiro looks at them in disbelief. “That she was trying to kill someone to keep her secret safe?”

“Would Yuuka even do that..?” Hachiro asks, hesitant. “She seemed way too sweet and fragile to ever try and kill someone…”

“The key word there is _seemed.”_ Chiyoko crosses her arms, lifting her chin ever so slightly. “We only know so much about her, and we’re fresh out of time to learn any more. She could have had an incredibly dark secret that she desperately needed to keep.”

“Did anyone...k-know her secret..?” Akio rubs his arm nervously. “..Iki….?”

“I..” Iki clutches her hands at her chest. “Well, I…” She swallows hard, then shakes her head rapidly. “No! I can’t. I won’t say what it is. I could never disrespect Yuuka that way...I know what it is. And it’s..not a light one. But I...I really don’t think she would kill for it.”

“I don’t think we can deny that Yuuka was the one with the knife, though…” I click my tongue. “Then..that cut probably means the killer and Yuuka got into a fight. Both Yuuka and her killer went out around the same time with the intention to kill. There was some kind of struggle between the two, and the killer got cut in the process.”

“I hate to imagine a sweet girl like Yuuka trying to kill someone..” Yoshiki sighs. “Let us move on for now. Hotaru, when did you notice your dagger was missing?”

“Not until I was going to sleep,” I shake my head slowly. “But I was in my room from around 4 PM until I woke up this morning.”

“So, we simply need alibis from the entire day until around 4 PM,” Yoshiki starts messing with her ponytail again.

“I was with Kaori nearly all day,” I start. “And I saw Miyako, Hachiro, Takumi, Kenji, and Ichiro earlier. Miyako and Hachiro from around 8 to 10, Ichiro around 10 to 1. And Takumi and Kenji for the rest of that time.”

“I visited the library yesterday morning while most people were at breakfast,” Ayako answers. “I am sure that makes me suspicious, but I am pretty confident that you all do not suspect me.”

That wasn’t necessarily true, but whatever…

“I was also alone most of the day,” Chiyoko brushes off her skirt as she speaks. “I talked with Yoshiki for a few hours during the afternoon, though.”

“I was with Shiori in the coffee shop for the first half of the day, and my abili ends around 3 PM..” Yoshiki admits.

“I was with Kumi all day!” Kenji smiles. “And, like ‘Taru said, we saw her for a few hours.”

“I woke up late and spent a bit longer in the dining hall than most of the others,” Ichiro explains. “Hotaru and Kaori saw me walk out of the hotel before they invited me to lunch with them. I spent most of my day in the library after that.”

“I was with Hachiro aaalll day!” Miyako adds. “Barely let him outta my sight! Oh, except for that time after his secret where I let him go to his cottage alone for a few hours.”

“I was with Yuuka all day…” Iki sighs.

“Takara and I were in the garden for most of that morning!” Hibiki smiles gently. “Then we hung out in the general store and totally rearranged it for the rest of the day!”

A weird use of time..but an alibi nonetheless. Looks like only a few people are without alibis....and nearly all of them match at least one piece of evidence.

“Hey, did a-anyone else..notice anything weird about the..the fountain?” Akio rests a hand on the podium in front of him.

“In what way?” Ayako asks, looking at him. 

Akio visibly stiffens when Ayako looks at him. “Um...well..there was a lot of blood on it...and the water was dirty and bloody..and..there was one bloody spot that seems weird…”

“Yuuka and the killer likely got dirty while fighting..” Kenji suggests “It’s easy to get dirtied up on that street, especially if they were like..full-on rolling on the ground fighting. And eventually they ended up in the fountain, with the killer having the upper hand. All of that blood is probably from the both of them…”

“That is probably safe to say,” Kaori nods. “What about that strange blood stain? What’s that about?”

“I saw that too,” I frown, trying to imagine it. “It was kinda small, but there was definitely a blood stain on the arm of the statue on the fountain.”

“Couldn’t that just have been from the killer’s injury?” Takara looks at me. “Or Yuuka’s stab wounds?”

“Not with how it’s angled,” I shake my head. “It’s too high up.”

“Hm…” Takumi looks at the ground as they think. “I mean, that fountain isn’t really meant for standing in. It would be pretty uncomfortable no matter how you stand.”

“Yes,” Yoshiki agrees. “There is no good way to stand all the way without touching the statue in some way...perhaps the killer hit their head on it?”

“I think you are right on the money, Yoshiki,” Ayako snickers.

“What’s the creepy laughin’ about?” Miyako sneers at him.

“Oh, nothing...I think I just might be able to prove Yoshiki’s theory…” As he speaks, Ayako digs into the pocket of his pants and pulls something out. He raises a small plastic bag above his head for us all to see. Whatever is inside is too small to see. “..These are small strands of hair, found near the blood stain on the statue.”

“Wh-What the hell??” Shiori stammers. “How were you able to see that? And why didn’t you tell us before now?”

He just gives Shiori a smug look before addressing the rest of us again. “After stabbing poor Yuuka to death, the killer attempted to stand while still in the fountain, and hit their head on the side of it. Not hard enough to cause serious damage, but hard enough to draw blood. And the statue took some of their hair as well.”

I can’t believe he hid such crucial information from us…

“ _Red_ Hair.”

Wait, what? 

The people around me start talking quietly amongst themselves, but I remain totally silent as I watch Ayako. 

He shoves the plastic bag back into his pocket and laughs again, in a lower and quieter tone this time. “Now...who do we know that has red hair, wears a white button up, wears a hefty amount of sturdier black fabric, has a weak alibi for stealing Hotaru’s dagger, and is strong enough to overpower a small girl but not strong enough to do so without a fight?” Another laugh. This one sends a chill down my spine. “..I can think of no one other than our Ultimate Violinist himself.”

“Wh..” Ichiro takes a small step away from his podium. _”What?_ Don’t be ridiculous. Why are you throwing accusations at me all of a sudden? I have no reason to kill anyone!”

“You are among those of us whose secrets were not revealed yet, are you not?” Chiyoko stares him down.

“I..I mean, yes, but..” Ichiro shakes his head. “But a bunch of us hadn’t had our secrets out yet! Why are you targeting me?”

“You..match all of the evidence..” Iki says quietly, her face hardening. “No one else fits everything we’ve found.”

“That’s all circumstantial!” Ichiro pushes up his glasses. “Any of that could be planted!”

“That’s highly unlikely,” Kaori states bluntly, crossing her arms. “Your hair, your clothes, your missing alibi? With no evidence pointing elsewhere?”

“You have no real proof!” Ichiro takes another step away, and at this point I’m afraid he’ll fall off his podium. “Give me one thing that really proves I’m the killer!”

We’ve already got so much, but I’m sure there’s something else...something that really proves who the killer is. While everything so far points to him, Ichiro isn’t going to listen unless we give him one more solid piece of evidence...I know I have something.

“Ichiro,” I state as calmly as I can, looking directly at him. He very slowly turns his gaze to me, and I continue. “Are your glasses in good shape?”

“Huh..?” He looks at me with a quizzical expression. “Yes, my glasses are just fine, thank you. I take great care of them. What are you trying to do?”

“By the fountain,” I begin, shoving my shaking hands into my pockets. “There was one more thing I noticed. Little shards of glass...thin, but not terribly thin. But not thick enough to be from any sort of drinking glass.” I swallow hard. “The kind of glass one might see in eyeglasses. Eyeglasses that would most certainly break if you got in a fight!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Ichiro’s front falters. Despite his attempts to try and remain calm and professional, he’s clearly panicked. “What are you trying to prove??”

“Your glasses broke during your struggle with Yuuka, and you thought you picked up the pieces, didn’t you?” I’m raising my voice. I don’t want to. I learn forward and grip my podium. “You’re going to sit here and deny every piece of evidence against you, and just let the rest of us die here so you can go free? Those pieces of glass could only have been from your glasses, Ichiro! Admit it!”

“Akio wears glasses!” Ichiro yells back immediately. Even from where I’m standing, I can see sweat form on his brow. “Why aren’t you accusing him? Huh? Why just me?”

“Akio doesn’t wear black, Ichiro,” My yelling has turned into a low monotone that scares even me when I hear it. “You’ve been caught. Give up.” My arms are getting weak. “Please.”

The room has fallen silent. Ichiro stares at me with wide eyes, his hands shaking at his sides. “I..I don’t..I..I c…”

I break focus for just a second to see Iki staring at the floor, hands on her podium. “..You did it, didn’t you?” Her blank expression quickly turns to anger, and she looks Ichiro in the eye. “You killed her! _You killed Yuuka, you fucking monster!”_

“I-” Ichiro chokes out, shaking his head slowly. “...It wasn’t supposed to be her…” He finally whimpers.

“You’re a fucking IDIOT!” Iki’s voice only gets louder, and she’s leaning far over her podium. “Why? Why did you do it? To protect some s-STUPID secret?” She shakes her head slowly. I can tell she’s at a loss for words. “..I hate you.”

Ichiro just goes silent, staring down at the floor. No one else dares say a word.

“Looks like you’re ready to vote!!” Monokuma cackles. “Everyone, please vote using the screens in front of you by pressing the icon of the person you wish to vote for!”

I look down, and the panel on the podium has lit up. With slow, shaky hands, I press Ichiro’s icon. I don’t look up to see everyone else voting. I’m so tired…

I look up again once the panel turns off. Something is projected onto the clock- or, is the clock just a screen? Regardless, we’re shown a video of a slot machine of some sort. For a long time, way too long, the three panels spin, and...all three of them land on Ichiro’s face. Above it in big, bright letters is the word “GUILTY.” I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. We got it right...but that means he has to be punished now, doesn’t it?

“It..It wasn’t supposed to be her!” Ichiro yells as soon as the screen shuts off. “I didn’t want to kill Yuuka..! S..She tried to kill me first!”

“She only went after you because you were walking around with a weapon,” Chiyoko scoffs, emotionless. “..To think such a person was fawning over me..”

“I-I’ll admit, I did..” He clears his throat. “..I did steal that dagger and go out with the intent to kill, but..but not her.”

“Who were you trying to kill then?!” Shiori shouts.

“Whoever’s secret I got!” Ichiro raises his voice again. “Someone is..S..Someone….” He slumps down slightly. “Someone is working with the mastermind…”

“Bullshit!” Miyako leans forward on her podium. “You just wanted to keep your own ass from the fire! What kinda secret are you keeping, huh?”

“I swear, I’m not lying..!” Ichiro shakes his head, exasperated. “I wanted to kill who I thought was working with the mastermind behind all this, I just..I…”

“Are you sure about that?” Monokuma chimes in from his throne. “Let’s take a look at your secret, shall we..?”

Ichiro’s eyes go wide. “W-Wait, no-!”

The clock flickers on again. It opens to a video of Ichiro, playing violin on stage. It cuts to a closer shot, and we see Ichiro nod to someone in the wings.

“This is a video from just this year!” Monokuma explains. “This was one of the biggest solo performances of Ichiro’s life!”

“No, please-” Ichiro begs, but is ignored.

“Now take a look at this!”

The shot remains close. We see Ichiro take a deep breath and start playing. There is most certainly violin music playing, but it doesn’t actually look like his bow is touching the strings. It would be hard to see from far away, though.

“And in this performance...Ichiro cheated!” Monokuma announces. “He wasn’t even playing! Some Ultimate!”

That must mean the secret I had was Ichiro’s...but I really didn’t think that would be enough to kill over. Then again, I didn’t think anyone would kill at all, and I was wrong about that…

“I…” Ichiro stares at the ground. “...It’s true. I didn’t actually do that performance. B-But that doesn’t mean I would kill to keep it a secret!”

“What the fuck?!” Ikirashi shouts. I can see tears slipping down her cheeks. “You killed Yuuka..for _that?!”_

“That wasn’t the reason, I-I swear!” Ichiro shakes his head frantically. “I told you! She tried to kill me first! I..I had to…” He grips his podium and just slumps forward in defeat. 

“And how could I forget Yuuka?” Monokuma begins, and the screen on the clock changes.

“Don’t you dare!!” Ikirashi yells, pointing at Monokuma. “This isn’t fair!”

“Some of you familiar with Yuuka Mizushima may remember that brief period of her mysterious illness…” Monokuma explains as a video of Yuuka in a plain black background appears on the clock. “It was only a few months, but it deeply worried all of her fans and her family. No one could identify it, but it just went away after those few months..”

I was never really into figure skating, and I never did much research on Ultimates, so I hadn’t heard of this. It sounds awful, though. Poor Yuuka…

“And those of you even more familiar with Yuuka’s life would have known that just a few months before this illness began, Yuuka’s father had passed away, how sad!” Monokuma fakes a sympathetic pout. “And this illness was reported just a day before his funeral, isn’t that convenient! Yuuka never attended that funeral! Now here comes the shocking part….She faked it!! For all of that time, Yuuka faked a serious ailment just to avoid her father’s funeral, causing her friends and family even more heartache!!”

“No one say anything!” Iki orders as soon as Monokuma is done. “You don’t have any right to judge her, your secrets are just as bad! Worse, even!”

“Ikirashi…” Yoshiki says softly. “None of us would even think about disrespecting the dead like that.”

“My, my..” Ayako snickers, quickly disproving Yoshiki’s statement. “Who knew such a meek, frail girl was capable of such wickedness? Fascinating…”

Iki sends a murderous glare in Ayako’s direction, but says nothing.

“Well then..” Monokuma giggles. “Now that that’s over...I think you all know what comes next! You all voted correctly! **Let’s give it everything we’ve got! IIIIT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!!”**

“Oh n-no..!” Nakukuma speaks up for the first time this entire trial.

_The Final Bow_

_The Ultimate Violinist’s Execution: Executed_

_The entire wall behind Monokuma’s throne opens up, revealing nothing but a completely dark space. A chain shoots out from the darkness, clamping itself around Ichiro’s neck and dragging him into the darkness._

_After a few moments, the light turns on, revealing a stage. It is just barely a floor below us. There is a massive audience of Monokumas, all staring at Ichiro on the stage. He is shaking, with a violin in his hands. He looks around in a panic. As he does, neon lights switch on above and in front of him._

_PLAY FOR YOUR LIFE_

_His hands still shaking, Ichiro holds his violin in position and begins playing. The sound is terribly off tune, which seems to confuse him, and it’s much louder than a violin should be. He just keeps playing faster and more intensely. As he does, the Monokumas in the audience start throwing things at him. They start with roses, but then there are blades flying from their hands, as well as rocks and other small, blunt objects. Ichiro keeps playing nonetheless, despite his wounds and weak limbs. The blood from his head wounds is starting to get into his eyes._

_The neon lights above him turn into a countdown from three, and as soon as it’s up, thin strings appear up and downstage. The lights now read “TIME’S UP!” Before Ichiro can even react, the strings move in at full speed, slicing him to pieces. Blood quickly overtakes the stage, and the audience claps and cheers._

_Ichiro Gorou, The Ultimate Violinist, is dead._

The wall closes up again, and I slap a hand over my mouth to suppress a scream. That was awful. Ichiro was a murderer, but he didn’t deserve to die like _that._

A dull thud comes from behind me, and I quickly turn back around to see that Akio has passed out on the floor. Yoshiki quickly runs over to take care of him. Guess that was too much for him..I don’t blame him. I’m having a hard time staying upright myself.

My eyes drift to Iki. Her expression is unreadable. She doesn’t seem...happy that Ichiro died the way he did, but she doesn’t look as horrified as everyone else.

“Hotaru, ya mind lending a hand?” Turning back to where Akio is, I see Shiori trying to help him up. I nod and walk over, slinging his other arm over my shoulder. I decide it’s best to just help him back to his cottage instead of trying to talk to anyone else. I’m too exhausted, anyway.

Shiori and I carry Akio onto the elevator, and a few other people follow behind. Iki doesn’t move a muscle. Without a word, we take the elevator back down to the bottom of the clock tower.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 Post-Trial Scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post-Trial chapters will almost always be about this short! They will also be the only chapters with scenes not written from Hotaru's perspective.

Shiori and I take our time carrying Akio back to his cottage, so we don’t want to wake him up or accidentally hurt him. Once we get him to his cottage and in bed, I let out a long sigh.

Shiori looks down at Akio for a moment before looking at me. “..This is...really happening, huh?” She asks quietly.

“I guess..” I rub at my eyes. It’s only midday, but I’m exhausted.. “...No one’s gonna do this again. I’ll make sure of it. No one else has to die.”

“I second that!” Shiori grins, her voice raising to a louder volume again. “No one’s dyin’ on my watch. If anyone even thinks of murder, I’ll kill them! ..Wait, no.”

I can’t help but giggle. “Don’t worry, I get what you mean. We’ll figure this out...we have to.”

Shiori nods at me, and we both leave Akio’s cottage and head our separate ways. I need a nap.

\--------

Ikirashi sits on her bed, hugging a pillow tight to her chest. Yoshiki is sitting at her desk, looking at her with worry.

“...Do you need to talk about something..?” Yoshiki asks softly. Iki had been quiet for the past few minutes, just staring at the wall.

“..I…” Iki mumbles, not taking her eyes off the wall. “...Is Ayako right..? Is it..Is it stupid of me to care so much about someone I only knew for a few days..?”

Yoshiki quickly shakes her head. “No, Iki..that’s totally normal. It may only have been a few days, but those few days were important to you. Most people make connections with others the instant they meet. To have someone you care about taken away so quickly isn’t easy…”

Iki hugs the pillow tighter. “But..I barely e-even knew her...she tried to kill someone and I was sure she never would..I’m so _stupid…!”_ The tears she was holding back spill from her eyes yet again.

“Hey, no, don’t say that,” Yoshiki frowns deeply. “You are not stupid, Ikirashi. You lost someone you care about, you’re allowed to be upset. Give yourself room to breathe. Please.”

Iki tries and fails to choke down a sob, burying her face in her pillow. She stays there for a few seconds, just crying. But eventually she calms down enough to nod. Slowly, she lets go of the pillow, wipes her eyes, and looks over to Yoshiki.

Yoshiki stands and lowers herself to Ikirashi’s eye level. “Get some rest. Don’t hesitate to ask me for help if you need it, okay?”

Ikirashi nods again. “..Thank you…” She whimpers, sniffing.

“Of course,” Yoshiki leans forward and pulls Iki into a quick hug with one arm. “Take your time. We’ll figure this out.”

Iki inhales deeply. “Y-Yeah...yeah.”

Yoshiki flashes Iki a weak smile before making her way to the door and stepping out of the cottage, making sure to turn off the lights before she leaves. Once the door is closed behind her, she lets out a deep sigh.

\---

Miyako sets down the towering plate of waffles she had just made and sits down at the table. It didn’t seem like anyone else was really in the mood for lunch right then...with the exception of Hachiro, of course. They had been completely quiet since the trial, but Miyako eventually spoke up. She couldn’t stand the silence.

“So...that secret stuff, huh?” She asks hesitantly, taking a huge bite out of one of the waffles.

“...Yeah..” Hachiro puts his hands together and rests them on the table. “...I hope you..don’t think any less of me because of it.”

She waves a hand dismissively. “Pfft, mine’s _way_ worse than yours.” She says with her mouth full. After a brief pause, she swallows. “...I really don’t give a fuck what you’re hiding. We’ve all got secrets. Mine isn’t exactly pleasant, and I wouldn’t want anyone knowing, but..” She shrugs. “I don’t care what you did. It’s behind us, y’know? I don’t know your life.”

“Thank you..” Hachiro lets out a sigh of relief. He stays silent for a few moments, fidgeting with his scarf. “...I..I ran away after my grandmother died. She was...um..She was really the only person I lived with that seemed to care about me. My mother wasn’t…mean, but she barely paid attention to me. My grandmother was the only one who actually helped me transition…” He clears his throat as blood rushes to his face. “..When she died, I..I d-didn’t really know what to do-”

“Woah!” Miyako cuts him off. “I gotcha, Mr. Oversharer! You..didn’t need to tell me that much. It’s okay, ‘Chiro. I don’t need your life story. I know you now, and that’s all I need.”

“..Yeah,” Hachiro looks to the side, still blushing. “..Thank you.” He glances back up at her. “..What was your secret, anyway?”  
“My body count, duh!” Miyako laughs, taking another bite of a waffle.

“Gross.”

\---

Somewhere, hidden away from prying eyes, someone is staring at at least a dozen computer monitors. They hug a plush Monokuma tightly, and they smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Day 1

**”Good morning citizens! It is now 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Hope you all rested well!”**

I can barely open my eyes. I fell asleep early, but I’m still too tired to move. Was all that yesterday...real? Yuuka...Ichiro..they’re..really dead. This is all real. Somehow, it’s just now hitting.

Just as I’m about to close my eyes and doze off again, there’s a loud knock at my door. It immediately jolts me back awake. I definitely won’t be able to go back to sleep now. I sigh, slowly getting out of bed and stretching. There’s another knock before I’m even close to the door. Barely suppressing a groan, I rub my eyes and try to wake up. After a deep breath, I open the door, and Kenji’s standing there, just as I expected.

“G’morning, Taru!” They wave cheerfully. How can they be so upbeat right now..? “There’s some new areas open, do you wanna come check them out with me?”

I hesitate. Normally, I would want to eat first, but I don’t think I could stomach anything right now… “Sure. Why not?”

“Alright!” Kenji’s grins wide. 

They wait patiently outside for me to get ready, but as soon as I open the door, they grab my hand and pull me outside.

“W-Woah, wait!” I barely manage to stop them as I reach out and pull my door shut. I tug with the hand Kenji’s holding, and I let go. I fish my door key from my pocket and lock it. Not making that mistake again.

“You good?” Kenji bounces on their heels. “Let’s go!”

I can barely keep up with them. They look to be running to the north street, though the east street isn’t blocked anymore. I know there’s no stopping them, though, so I jog behind them to the main street. Skidding to a stop behind them, I realize they’ve stopped at that huge building that was blocked off before. I met Kenji, Miyako, and Hachiro outside this building on the first day…

The building is even labelled now, a sign above the door reading “TALENT DEVELOPMENT BUILDING.” I can only assume that it means our Ultimates, but I’m not entirely sure.

We step into the building, and the first room is surprisingly small. It almost looks like a motel lobby, with a desk in front of a key rack and a houseplant settled next to a bench on the other side. The glass double doors show the hallway behind it, which is just a plain dark hall with differently colored doors in even rows.  
As I’m looking around, Kenji moves behind the desk and pulls a key off the rack. They rush to stand beside me, holding it up. I look over and take a quick look at the key. Its key tag has a small image of the comedy and tragedy masks on it.

“I think this one’s mine,” They hum, turning and walking through the glass doors before I can even respond. With a slight sigh, I follow.

We stop at a door decorated with a painting of stage with the curtains drawn. Kenji’s key fits right in. They quickly pull open the door and rush inside, barely giving me time to catch the door to follow. Kenji turns on the lights, revealing the room.

It’s relatively large, the main feature being the stage at the back of the room. It’s about the same size of one you would see in a high school auditorium. There’s a large bookshelf on the left end of the room, filled with what I can only assume are play scripts and books on acting technique. I’m not too familiar with any of that stuff, so I doubt I would recognise any of it. On the other end are a few changing stations and some vanity mirrors, the kind lined with lights. There’s multiple costume racks, stocked with costumes from every period. The room feels completely set up for a full-scale production.

“They’ve got everything!” I hear Kenji call from the other end of the room. I turn around to see them digging through the bookshelves and flipping through scripts. “Simon, Webber, Shakespeare...they’ve even got some old Greek plays! They have stuff I haven’t even heard of!”

I slowly walk over. I barely understand anything they’re saying, but I’m glad they’re so passionate. 

“Taru?” Kenjia asks, turning to me. Their arms are full of books. “Do you like Shakespeare?”

“Kinda, I guess?” I shrug. “I only really read what I had to for school stuff, but..I guess it’s not too bad?”

“That makes sense..” Kenji slumps a little. “Shakespeare’s something that's really meant to just be watched, not read by requirement. Though, some of his work is pretty unsavable, even in performance..”

I just nod, unsure what to say in response. Kenji carefully puts the books back, taking their time to put them in order.

“This place is great, though!” They say, hopping back up to their feet. “I wonder if I can maybe do a performance for everyone here...ooh, maybe an improv show! Do you want me to teach you some acting skills, Hotaru?”

“Uhhh..” I rub the back of my neck. “I dunno...maybe. I’m not really a great actor..”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d be a great actor!” They wave their hand dismissively. “Anyone can, if they try!”

I don’t think that’s necessarily true...but I appreciate the optimism, and it might be nice to learn from them sometime. “..Yeah.”

“Cool!” Kenji gives me a peace sign and a wide grin. “Alright, let’s go check out the other places! I didn’t see a key that looked like it would lead to your room, and I don’t think we should go to the others’. Let’s go see what else is on this street, then we can check out the other ones!”

“Sounds like a plan,” I nod. I wonder what my room would look like...though, if these ones were unlocked through our friends dying, I really hope we never find out.

Kenji and I leave the building, and they take their room key with them. Before we leave, I take a look at the other keys on the rack. Judging by the symbols, they look to be Akio’s, Shiori’s, and Kaori’s. Maybe I can convince them to take me to check them out later.

As soon as we step out, I catch Hachiro out of the corner of my eye. He’s standing in the middle of the street. He looks..zoned out. Frowning, I tug on Kenji’s sleeve and subtly point in his direction. They frown and start walking over. I follow close behind.

“Hachiro?” I ask once we’re close enough.

He doesn’t move a muscle. “Cold spot.” He mumbles, completely monotone.

“Huh?” Kenji raises a brow.

“There’s a cold spot here,” He explains. “Someone’s here. I can’t tell who..I feel them. Right here.”

“S..Someone?” I repeat. Then it clicks. He’s the Ultimate Spirit Medium, and two people just died…

Hachiro visibly shivers, and he grabs at his arms. “..They’re..sad. Really sad.”

I frown. I don’t know how much I believe him, but..he looks really distressed.

“Oh no!” Kenji takes a step forward. “Are you sure you don’t know who it is? You’ve only got two options, right?”

“We don’t know that for sure..” Hachiro grabs at his arms tightly. “There could have been..a..a lot of deaths here.” He swallows hard. “..I..I’m not sure if it’s Yuuka or Ichiro, but fr..from the energy I’m getting it’s not anyone else.”

“Oh man..” Kenji mumbles. “..Do you wanna go check out the new buildings with us? Maybe get a distraction?”

“I-..No, I’m fine,” Hachiro quickly shakes his head and heads for the west street. As he rushes off I just barely catch him wiping his eyes with his sleeve. 

Kenji frowns, watching him until they can’t see him anymore. They just sigh, running a hand through their hair. “..Poor Hachiro. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”

“..Yeah,” I nod. “Do you just wanna..check out the next place now?”

We make our way down Main street, and come across the second new building. It looks like..a hospital. A pretty small one, but definitely a hospital nonetheless.

We enter, and I'm instantly hit with the smell of disinfectant. I have to take a moment to just get used to it. The place is spotless, as one would expect from a hospital. The waiting room is completely empty, and it almost makes it feel..eerie.

"Woah, creepy," Kenji mutters, echoing my thoughts. "I've never seen a hospital so empty.." 

I just nod, starting down the hallway to look at the rooms. The hospital is only two floors, and the second one is probably similar to the first. I duck my head into the first room I see. It's a pretty standard hospital room, though it has shelves filled with all kinds of medical supplies. I guess that could be helpful if someone gets hurt…

"I'm pretty sure all these rooms are identical!" I hear Kenji call from a few doors down. 

"That makes sense," I respond, closing the door behind me. Kenji rushed back to stand next to me, taking another quick look around the hallway.

"It's probably the same upstairs, huh?" They ask, rubbing the back of their neck.

"Mhm," I nod.

They look to a clock on the wall. "Do you wanna go get something to eat? You didn't eat breakfast before, did you? Sorry, that's my fault."

As if on cue, I hear my stomach growl. Guess a bit of an early lunch wouldn't be too bad.

Kenji and I leave the hospital and make our way to the hotel dining hall. When we walk in, we're greeted by Iki, sitting by herself at a table and barely picking at a bowl of mac and cheese. I move a little faster to stand across from her, and Kenji joins me.

"Hey, Iki," I saw softly. "How're you holding up?" 

Iki looks up at us lazily and shrugs. "I'm okay, I guess. I have some extra mac and cheese, if you want some. I just made a whole box in case more people came.."

"Sounds good," I give a small smile. "Thanks. We'll be back in a second, okay?"

She just nods and goes back to staring at her food. I make my way to the kitchen and gesture for Kenji to follow. Not that I needed to.

"She looks tired.." Kenji whispers as soon as we're out of earshot. "Do you think she slept at all last night..?"

"I dunno," I shrug, pulling a couple bowls from a cabinet and moving to the stove, where Iki has left the rest of the pasta. "I can tell she's not doing great, though. And I don't blame her…"

"We need to cheer her up!" Kenji says firmly. "I hate seeing her this way!"

"Mm, I really don't think there's much we can do.." I shake my head as I portion out the food into the bowls. "I think she just needs some time. And to know that we're here for her. Maybe we can see if Yoshiki can help her in any way.."

Kenji balls up their fists at their sides. "But I..I really want to help! I can't just watch her suffer like this!"

"You can help by giving her the space and time she needs," I look them in the eye, handing them their bowl. 

Kenji and I take our seats across from Iki, who hasn't moved at all or touched her food while we were gone.

"Have you seen the new buildings yet?" I offer after another moment of silence.

Iki shakes her head. "No..if I'm being honest, I kinda just woke up. I..couldn't get to sleep for a while."

"I don't blame you.." I respond with a slight sigh. "I'm surprised I fell asleep as fast as I did...it doesn't even feel like anything's really hit me yet."

"Um!" Kenji pipes up, eager to not go down this road of conversation. "The new places are pretty cool! There's a whole building for what I think is, like, rooms designated to our talents."

"Huh," Iki sounds...genuinely interested. That's a start. "Maybe I'll check them out later."

"Yours isn't open yet, I don't think.." They start. "But you can always hang out in mine! And I'm sure if you ask any of the other people who have theirs open you can hang out in theirs too!"

"Yeah.." She seems to slump a little. "But...If they get opened when people die, I..I don't ever wanna see mine."

Kenji tenses up slightly. "Oh, uh. Yeah. That makes sense. Sorry.."

"No, it's not your fault," Iki's voice cracks, and she bunches up her skirt in her fists. "I-I just..I still can't believe this is all happening-" I can tell she's about to cry..

"No, hold on!" Kenji shakes their head, desperately trying to soothe her. "Breathe, Iki. I know. This is hard for all of us.."

Iki takes a deep breath and barely manages to choke down her tears. "N..Normally, this would be the time that I would just...just crack a joke and try to make us all feel better. But I d...I don't really know how to make things funny anymore…nothing about this is funny."

I slowly shake my head. “No one expects you to find anything funny...this is hard. No one blames you for being upset.”

“B-But I shouldn’t!” She clenches her eyes shut. “..I shouldn’t be this upset over someone I barely knew..Yoshiki..Yoshiki said it’s okay, but it doesn’t feel okay.”

“It’s-” I swallow, unsure how to comfort her. “You should trust Yoshiki. Your feelings aren’t invalid. What matters is you’re feeling them.” Was that the right thing to say? I hope so..

Iki just sighs and looks down at the table. “..Yeah.” She stands up and clears her throat. “..I’m gonna go check out the new buildings. I’ll..see you guys later.” Before Kenji or I can protest, she walks out of the dining hall.

“Man..” Kenji mumbles. “I wish there was more I could do..”

“We should just leave her be for now…” I sigh, standing up, picking up Iki’s bowl as well as my own. 

We clean up and leave the hotel. The air feels tense.

“Let’s check out the east street!” Kenji breaks the silence, trying to stay positive. 

I just nod, walking beside them to the east street. On the way, I catch Akio out of the corner of my eye. Looks like he just came from the coffee shop, since he’s got a drink in his hands. He still looks a little out of it, but definitely better than when he was passed out.

“Hey, Akio!” Kenji greets before I can, walking over to him.

“Oh-!” Akio jumps, startled. He tightens his grip on his cup so he doesn’t drop it. He awkwardly pushes his glasses up with his free hand. “Hey, Kenji..Ho..Hotaru.”

Kenji smiles, stopping in front of him. “What’s up? Are you feeling any better?”

“Kinda…” He shrugs. “I woke up..i-in the middle of the night, really confused..but I remembered and just went back to sleep..I..d..didn’t wanna think any more about..what happened.”

“That makes sense..” I nod in understanding. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, though. I got really worried when you just passed out like that..”

“Yeah..” He rubs the back of his neck and looks askance. “I saw Shiori earlier. Thanks for carrying me back, ahah..”

“No problem at all,” I respond with a light smile. “We’re going to check out the new street, do you want to come with?”

“Oh, um, sure..!” He nods.

“Cool!” Kenji lights up. “Let’s go, then!”

Akio and I practically have to run to keep up with Kenji’s pace to the east street. We finally stop once we get there, and I actually get a chance to look around. The main feature is a public park, right in the middle of the street. There’s a large statue of monokuma in the middle, but other than that, it’s a nice park….at least there’s actually some nature in the place we’re trapped in. The street is lined with buildings, but it looks like only two other buildings are open. There’s a rather bland, large building, and if it weren’t for the open door, I probably would have assumed it was still closed. In contrast, the other one open is a black building with neon lights clearly marking it as an arcade. 

“The park is..kinda pretty..” Akio comments, then takes a sip of his drink.

“Yeah!” Kenji grins, breaking back into a run to the park. I sigh, electing to just not follow them. Looks like Akio has the same idea.

“..Hotaru..?” I hear Akio mumble from beside me.

“Yeah?” I look down at him. “What’s up?”

“Um...I..” He sighs. “..Do you think we’re going to get out of here?”

I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out for a moment. “I...I really don’t know.” I look up to see Kenji trying to climb a tree with little success. “..But I really hope so.”

After Kenji loses interest in the park, all three of us enter the arcade. Everything is brightly lit and flashing, and it has that tacky carpet they usually put in bowling alleys. While I look around, I catch Hibiki and Takara out of the corner of my eye, playing an older arcade game. It looks like they’re just finishing up, because after a few minutes, Hibiki takes his hands off the controls and throws his hands in the air.

“Yay!” He laughs. “Nice game, I didn’t expect you to be so good!”

“Aha..” Takara rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks. I had fun.”

Hibiki pops up and goes to say something to Taka, but then he notices me and waves enthusiastically.

“Hey, Hotaru!” He greets, skipping over to me. “How’re you?”

“As good as I can be,” I shrug. “How about you two?” I gesture towards Takara, who’s standing next to Hibiki now.

“I’m great!” Hibiki giggles. Then he pauses, his smile dropping ever so slightly. “I think.”

“I’m alright..” Takara tugs at his sweater a bit. “The new buildings are, uh, pretty cool.”

“Yeah..” I nod.

“Taru!” I hear Kenji call from behind me. “Wanna play a quick game of Pac-Man?”

“Oh, uh, sure!” I call back, waving to Hibiki and Takara. I walk over to Kenji, but pause as I see Akio inspecting one of the game machines.

“Akio?” I ask.

“Hm?” He looks up at me, eyes wide. “Oh, um, sorry. It’s just..” He glances back at the machine. “I actually designed the logo for this game..it was never very popular, but it’s..here.”

I take a look at the game machine. It looks like a pretty simple one, using only a joystick and a couple buttons. I’ve never heard of it, though. “Huh.”

I spend a little bit more time in the arcade with Kenji before the two of us decide to go check out the other building. Akio’s been roped into playing games with Takara and Hibiki, so we just go on our own.

The other building has no label, so we aren’t sure what to expect when we walk in. When we do, though, it becomes pretty clear that this is some sort of warehouse. The shelves are tall and stacked to the brim with various things. Food, clothes, tools, art supplies..and just about anything else you could imagine. What really stands out, though, is the wall entirely covered in weapons. Chiyoko is standing in front of it, just inspecting it.

I walk up to the wall as well to get a closer look. Everything looks dangerous, and pretty easily accessible… The wall is covered in everything from swords to guns. That’s certainly not convenient in a place like this..

“This is dangerous,” Chiyoko speaks up.

“Huh?” I look over at her, not having expected her to say anything.

“That’s what you’re thinking, right?” She turns to look at me. “You’re thinking that this is dangerous in a place like this.”

“Well, yeah..?” I furrow my brow. “Though I..guess this makes sense..to have a bunch of weapons around in a place where we’re expected to kill each other.”

“Are you sure?” Chiyoko crosses her arms, still staring at me.

“What..do you mean?”

“Are you sure this _entire_ place was made just for us to kill each other?” She elaborates. “An entire town, just built with the intention of a battle royale?”

“Well-” I start, but she continues.

“Even if that is its entire purpose..” She glances back at the wall. “Not just anyone could orchestrate this kind of game. And it couldn’t be a single person, either.”

“Are you..” I tilt my head to the side slightly. “Are you suggesting that...it’s not just one person who trapped us here, but multiple people?”

“Almost certainly,” Chiyoko answers. “There must be some sort of organization behind all of this, no other explanation makes sense.” She looks me in the eye. “Do you remember what Ichiro said his motive was during the trial?”

I hesitate, not wanting to think about it. But then..

_Someone is working with the mastermind!_

That’s right. Someone’s secret was that they were working with the mastermind...I didn’t give it much thought when he said that, but…

“It probably means that one of us is a spy for whoever is trapping us here,” Chiyoko continues. “A traitor, if you may. Even if the mastermind just so happens to be one of even just a few people, they are probably hiding somewhere where we can’t get to them..so they needed a rat.”

“I..” I frown. I don’t like the thought of anyone here working with our captors...it just doesn’t seem possible. Not for anyone here. I may not like every single person, but I don’t think anyone here would be so malicious…

“You are the only person here who I think could really even try to comprehend that,” She doesn’t let me say anything. “But I can tell you aren’t going to consider it. So start acting like someone I can respect, and maybe we can revisit this conversation.”

She walks off before I can say anything. Geez...why does she think I care so much about what she thinks of me? She’s smart, sure, but I’m perfectly capable of figuring these kinds of things out by myself…

The rest of my day is pretty routine. During dinner I barely pay attention as Kenji talks my ear off about the books they found in their talent room. I see Yoshiki and Shiori as I make my way to my cottage, and I give them a small wave.

When I get back to my cottage, I take what feels like the longest shower of my life and get into some comfortable pajamas. I’m in bed before I even think about drying my hair, and before I know it, I’m asleep. I’m not up long enough to hear the nighttime announcement.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Day 2

_”Good morning, citizens! It is now 7am, which means nighttime is officially over! Have another wonderful Despairville day!"_

As I wake up, the first thing that comes to my mind is the conversation Chiyoko and I had yesterday. Was Ichiro really telling the truth..? Is someone here..really working for the mastermind..? I don't want to believe it. After all, he had another motive to kill..

I try my best to brush it off and get myself ready. Surprisingly, Kenji isn't here to greet me today. They're probably off doing something else. Or maybe they're still asleep.

Once I'm dressed and ready to go, I head for the door. Just as I do, I notice something on my floor right in front of the door. It's a slip of paper. Must have been slipped under my door… I pick it up and read it.

_The most kick-ass pool party you've ever been to!  
Meet at the gym pool. Starts at 10 am sharp, ends whenever we want. Be there or be square. Snacks provided but feel free to bring your own.  
-Your Gracious Host, Miyako <3_

I can't help but chuckle as I read the note. A pool party, huh..? I vaguely recall there being a pool in the gym, but I haven't been in there since our first day. Getting our minds off of everything with some swimming could be good, though. I pocket the note and make my way out of my cottage.

It looks like a lot of people are skipping out on our original idea of eating breakfast together..when I get to the dining hall, the only people there are Kenji, Takumi, Kaori, Iki, Akio, and Shiori. Though, I guess Miyako has an excuse. She's probably setting up for the party. And there's probably at least one person helping. Hachiro, probably.. 

I take a seat next to Kenji, who's having an animated conversation with Takumi about something I don't understand.

"Hey, Hotaru," I turn my attention to Iki, who waves. She's looking a lot better. I can't tell if that makes me more or less worried. "Did you get a note from Miyako?"

"I did," I nod. "Are you going?"

"Yep!" She nods. "I haven't gone swimming in a long time...comedy tours keep me pretty busy."

"That makes sense.." I hum. "Well, I hope you have fun. You deserve it."

"I've..never been to a pool party bef...before.." Akio says sheepishly, staring at his hands in his lap. "I've..b-been swimming a few times, with my family, but...I've never..well, never been to a party at all, really…"

"Are you nervous?" Iki asks him. "It'll just be the 14 of us, you don't have anything to worry about."

"Oh, no," He shakes his head, pushing up his glasses. "I'm..exc..excited, actually..!"

"That's good!" Shiori lets herself into the conversation. "It'll be lots of fun, I promise."

"Aheh.." Akio laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If Miyako is putting this together, I bet it'll be great!" Takumi adds excitedly to the rest of us. "It is her talent, after all."

"Definitely," Kaori nods. "Though...I think her talent revolves more around the _act_ of partying rather than planning them. But I trust her."

"I wouldn't trust a girl like her for anything," Someone interrupts from the doorway. We all turn to see Ayako, leaning against the doorframe with an eyebrow raised. He sure has a natural talent for bringing down the mood…

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Shiori sneers. 

"You know.." Ayako answers, walking towards the table with his arms crossed. "Parades herself around like _that._ Definitely sleeps around without a second thought. Someone with no sort of pride or dignity..well,I wouldn't trust someone like that. I don't know about the rest of you.." He walks beside the table and stands about a foot away.

"You don't have any right to judge her personal life like that!" Iki retorts. "She may be a little out there, and a little..rude..but that doesn't mean you can just..say that!"

"Uh-huh," Ayako scoffs, unconvinced. "Let me know how that works out for you."

"Whatever, asshole!" Shiori narrows her eyes at him. "Go fuck off by yourself or something! No one cares what you think."

"Oh, my.." Ayako chuckles. "I only came by to say hi and get something to eat, no need to be so rude.." He clicks his tongue and turns his back to us, walking to the kitchen.

Shiori watches him until he's out of sight. Her nose twitches in anger. "I swear to God, I'm gonna punch his face in the next time he pulls something like that.."

"I don't...don't know why he acts like..that.." Akio's gaze has fallen back to the table.

"He just wants a rise out of us," Kaori explains calmly, folding their hands on the table.

"Oh, he'll get a rise, alright.." Shiori mumbles angrily, crossing her arms.

We spend the rest of our meal trying to get our thoughts back on a positive track. It's a little difficult at first, but Ikirashi manages to crack a few jokes and we lighten up pretty quickly. By the time we're done, it seems like a good time to start getting ready for the pool party.

As I'm walking out of the hotel, I catch Chiyoko in my field of vision, standing right outside of her cabin. She's talking to Nakukuma...it seems like a bit of a private conversation, so I avert my gaze and make my way to my own cabin.

I remember there being a few swimsuit options in my drawers, so I don't need to make a trip to the clothing store. There's also a cover-up in my drawers...at least whoever organized these rooms cares about that. They must've expected us to use the pool at some point…

Once I'm changed, I tie my hair into a low ponytail. It'll definitely be in my face otherwise. I check the clock to see it’s 9:45 already. Guess I’d better get going…

I head out of my cottage and start walking to the gym. As I do, someone jogs up behind me. I’m a little surprised to see Hibiki walking beside me when I turn to look.

“Hey, Hotaru!” He greets. I notice he still has all his hairclips in, even though we’re about to swim.. “How are you today?” He hums, tucking his hands behind his back.

I shrug. “I’m alright, I guess...How about you?”

“I’m good!” He responds cheerily. “I’m glad Miyako’s throwing a party, I’m sure it’ll help ease all of our nerves.”

“Definitely,” I say as I turn the corner to the west street.

Hibiki pauses, then laughs a little. “I’ll race you there!”

“Wh-” Before I can say anything, he’s dashing off to the gym. I am absolutely not in the right shoes to run, but I chase after him anyway.

Hibiki gets there a considerable time before I do, and he grins at me triumphantly. I can’t help but laugh a little. He’s almost like a little kid…

Hibiki and I enter together, and make our way to the pool on the first floor. There’s already a few people there when we arrive. 

Miyako is sitting at the edge of the pool. She waves enthusiastically when she notices us. “Yo!”

“Hey!” Hibiki rushes over, already starting to pull off the shirt he was using as a coverup. 

I chuckle softly, looking over to the array of chairs where Takumi and Kenji are sitting. Takumi looks a little embarrassed about whatever they’re talking about, but it doesn’t seem bad. Kenji notices me watching and waves me over frantically. 

I sit beside Kenji, who immediately catches me up on their conversation.

“I was just talking to Kumi about some old memories,” They explain. “We’ve known each other for a pretty long time. Remember when you had bright blue hair?”

“Oh, geez..” Takumi laughs, putting their face in their hands. “I wasn’t going through a good time when that happened…”

“Hey, no one had a good time in junior high,” Kenji reminds. “I liked the blue, but I think you look much better with your natural hair. It’s cute!”

“Aheh…” Takumi blushes and pushes a strand of hair behind their ear.

Eventually Takumi and Kenji are too caught up in their own world for me to really be involved in the conversation. Iki, arms resting on the side of the pool, calls me over, and I take it as an excuse to slip away and go join the others at the pool. 

“Hey, Iki,” I smile, sitting down at the edge of the pool and dipping my feet in.

“Yo!” Iki responds. “I like your swimsuit. It’s cute.”

“Oh,” My eyes widen a bit, not expecting the compliment. I find myself avoiding eye contact for a moment. “Ahah..thanks.”

“No problem, boblem,” She giggles, then lets out a little sigh of relief. “..I needed this. A little break from everything…”

I nod, slowly pulling myself into the water. “Yeah...me too.” I glance back at the rest of the people here. Almost everyone has gathered, and it seems like everyone’s enjoying themselves. “I’m pretty sure everyone feels the same.”

“Mhm…” She opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted by someone bursting through the door and shouting.

“Outta the way!” Shiori calls as she runs through the door, pulling off her coverup and heading straight for the pool. Before anyone can stop her, she sprints and jumps straight into the water. She barely misses jumping on top of Hibiki and Takara, and Chiyoko, whose chair is unfortunately close to the pool, gets pretty thoroughly splashed.

“Hey!” Chiyoko shouts, eyes narrowing at Shiori as water drips down her face.

Shiori resurfaces and puts on a big grin. “Whoooops.”

Beside me, I hear Iki snort, then burst out laughing. Miyako follows, then Hibiki, and soon enough the group of us have started cracking up. It feels...good. This might be my first real, genuine laugh since I got here. I manage to catch Chiyoko out of the corner of my eye, barely suppressing a smirk. She quickly turns it into a scowl and looks away, though.

I let that good feeling follow me for the next few hours of the party. I let Iki test a few jokes on me, Hibiki talks us into truth or dare, and Shiori drags a couple of us into a race to the end of the pool. I have some conversations with the people out of the water, and we all end up eating all of the snacks Miyako set up. Eventually, we all collectively decide that we’re just about finished.

As Miyako pulls herself out of the pool, she asks, “Who’s up for lunch? I’m gettin’ hun-gry.”

“Sounds good!” Hibiki smiles, picking up a towel and furiously rubbing against his soaking hair.

We all dry off and make our way to the hotel. As we walk, Kenji jogs up behind me.

“Hey, Taru!” They grin at me. “That was fun, huh?

“Definitely,” I nod. “I needed it..I think we all did.”

“Mhm!” Kenji nodded. “I’m feeling much better now!”

Were they...feeling bad before? If they were, they didn’t show it.

When we get to the kitchen, Kaori offers to cook for us, and we gladly accept. The rest of us sit down at the table and talk to each other in groups. Chiyoko takes her own seat at a separate table.

“..Hachiro?” Takumi looks across the table at him.

“Hm?” 

“Um..” Takumi starts, cearly unsure how to word their question. “..Can I, uh..um...why do you wear your scarf all the time?” They gesture to his light green scarf, which he’s put on over his post-swim clothes. “Doesn’t it..get hot?”

“Oh, uh..” Hachiro laughs softly. “It’s actually, um...my grandmother made it for me, when I was a kid. It...means a lot to me, it kinda feels like a good luck charm now..I can’t go without it. I’m..naturally pretty cold, anyway.”

“Oh,” Takumi looks a little embarrassed that they asked. “..Okay.”

Kaori eventually comes out with food and a little smile. Miyako gets way too excited about it, and for the first time, I see Kaori flustered. Eating Kaori’s cooking, I can’t help but remember the last time I had it, just a few days ago. With Ichiro...God, I still can’t believe two people are dead. Every place I go just feels a little emptier, a little wrong…

No. I shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. We’re all having a nice time right now, despite it all. I can’t lag behind everyone. Iki was the most hurt by all of this, and she’s doing alright..

I jump back into the conversation, pushing my negative thoughts aside. Eventually, I’m back to feeling alright and ignoring any worry that comes to mind.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t last long. As soon as we’re done eating, the monitors in the dining hall flicker to life.

 **”Ahem!”** Monokuma clears his throat. **”It looks like you’re all having a great time!! And getting along sooo well! And, well..I’m NOT loving it! So, I have something new for you...or, I will. Starting at midnight sharp, things will start to get..a little weird! From weather to sound, I’ll start changing everything around here to just be..wrong! But you still have time until midnight! So..if you don’t want to see things get strange, get to killing!”**

“..What the _fuck?”_ Miyako stares at the monitor in disbelief. “God, I can’t stand that teddy bear! I’d rip him in half if I could..”

“What..” Akio breathes. “..What do you think he means by ‘strange’...?”

“I..” Kaori furrows their brow. “I’m not sure. It just..seems like he’ll somehow mess with the environment to be off or just plain wrong.”

“And he thinks that’ll get us to kill?” Takara shakes his head. 

The room falls silent, and slowly, we all start to disperse. I spend a little more time at the table, deep in thought. This motive doesn’t sound too bad, sure, but we haven’t even seen it yet. Hopefully we figure something out before it gets too bad…  
I leave the hotel, feeling uncertain and upset once again. Of course this had to happen now..we couldn’t have just one day of peace. I hate it here.

Once I’m back in my cottage, I get out of my swim clothes and take yet another long shower. It’s not like I have anything better to do with my time, so I might as well take advantage of it. This time, I actually take the time to completely dry my hair before getting changed into my pajamas. As I sit down on my bed, my eyes drift to the book on my desk. It’s the one Kaori brought me from the library… I never actually got very far in. I don’t feel like going out tonight, so reading could be a good way to kill time.

I pick up the book and open it to the last place I was at. It’s a fantasy novel I’ve never heard of, but it’s really good. Eventually, I end up so engaged in reading it that I forget where I am for a while. By the time I’m snapped out of my trance, I’m nearly finished with the book, and the clock reads that it’s almost nighttime. I haven’t eaten...I should probably grab something from the dining hall before it closes for the night.

I leave my cottage, shivering slightly in the evening breeze. The town is pretty eerie in the dark..especially since no one else is outside. I look down main street. The clock tower seems almost menacing in the dark, and it doesn’t help that I know the trial room is at the top…

As I stare at the clock tower a little longer, I swear I see someone duck behind it, just for a second. My breath catches in my throat, but I quickly take a deep breath and try to shake it off. I’m probably just seeing things…

I enter the hotel, not wasting any time as I enter the dining hall. It feels just as creepy as the rest of the town. Totally empty, dimly lit… I don’t want to spend any more time here than I have to, so I hurry into the kitchen to grab something to eat. I find some pre-made sandwiches in the fridge, and I grab that as well as a can of soda. As quickly as I enter, I leave the dining hall, and then the hotel. Everything about the town at night is just..too unsettling to be out in for very long.

I keep reading my book as I eat, which causes me to take longer than necessary to do so. Just as I’m finishing up, the monitors come to life.

**”It is now 10 pm, which means it is officially nighttime! Don’t forget, in two hours, the next motive will begin! Get killing before things get too weird to handle!!”**

I sigh softly, shutting my book and putting it on my nightstand. The threat of a new motive is..worrying, but this one doesn’t seem bad. I hope.

I get myself settled into bed, and I can’t help but run over the day’s events. Not too long ago, we were all having fun together, not worrying, just being happy. But the reality has to hit sometime...the threat of death is very real here, and we need to do something about it. We can’t stay optimistic for long…

Soon enough, these thoughts start spiraling down, and I drift off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Days 3 + 4

I wake up to the morning announcement like usual, but in a very unusual way. Monokuma’s voice is so heavily distorted I can barely make out what he’s saying.

_”Good morning! It is now 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Let’s get moving!”_

Listening to that is headache inducing...I slowly pull myself out of bed with a yawn. I guess we’ll get to see what the motive means now...the announcement was already a taste of that. It’s annoying, but certainly not anything to kill over..

I get myself ready and step outside, and am immediately shocked by what I see. The other half of the street is dark..and when I look up, I see that the entire sky is split in half. Day on the right, night on the left...what the hell? Is this..a hallucination? Fake? A dream? I shake my head, not wanting to think about it.

I decide to just ignore it for now and make my way to the hotel. Almost everyone is in the dining hall this time, and it sounds like everyone is talking about the motive. The person who stands out the most is Takara, who is furiously scribbling in his notebook. I take an open seat across from him.

“Good morning,” I greet. “Are you doing alright?”

Takara takes a second to even notice me. He looks up from his writing, looking a bit startled. “..Oh. Hello..I’m okay. How about you?”

Something tells me he’s not doing okay..but I don’t push it. “I’m fine. A little weirded out, but..okay.”

"That's..good," He pushes out a breath. Before I can speak again, he addresses the group. "Has..anyone seen Hibiki today?"

A few people look at him, but most continue their own conversations.

"I saw him leave his cabin around the same time I did," Yoshiki answers. "I talked to him briefly. He said he was going to the clothing store."

"Thank you," Takara stands up, shutting his notebook. Before I can even say goodbye, he's out of the dining hall. He definitely seems off…

The rest of us finish our breakfast in relative peace. Everyone seems a little off, some more than others, but no one seems to be too upset. Though Shiori is acting a little more closed off than she usually is. As I’m finishing up, someone calls my name.

“Hotaru!” Miyako calls from a nearby table. “Shiki and I are gonna go hang out at the park! Do you wanna come with?”

“..Shiki?” I raise an eyebrow as Yoshiki sheepishly waves at me. “Oh. Yeah, sure.”

“Sick!” Miyako hops off the table. “Let’s go!”

I follow Miyako and Yoshiki out of the hotel, and we walk side by side. The first thing I notice is the strikingly different change outside. The sides of day and night in the sky have switched...at least it’ll be light in the park now.

The three of us make our way to the east street. Miyako seems to notice someone at the park before we do, because she calls to them and starts running.

“M-Miyako!” Yoshiki calls out, chasing after her. I follow, but don’t try very hard to keep up.

Miyako finally stops and Yoshiki and I stop behind her. Hibiki is waving at us from the grass. Takara is sitting across from him, legs crossed. It looks like Hibiki’s put some of his clips in his hair. He looks to be doing a lot better already…

“Hey guys!” Hibiki greets, moving on the grass to leave space for the rest of us. “How’re you?”

I shrug as I sit down. “Fine."

Miyako and Yoshiki sit down next to me.

"Hey, uh.." Takara clears his throat. "Sorry. If I seemed off earlier. I guess I just don't like when things are different than usual…"

"It's no problem," Yoshiki reassures him. "The environment here is weird as it is, I don't blame you for not liking even more change."

"Yeah.." Takara sighs. "But I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."

We all fall silent for a moment. Sensing the slight tense energy, Hibiki pipes up. "Hey! Who wants to hear a story?"

We all agree to listen, and his eyes light up.

"Okay, okay, okay!" He claps his hands together. "I just need some inspiration…" He looks around, and his eyes land on Takara. "Ooh! I know!" 

Hibiki pulls some clips from his own hair and right away, he assigns them characters and creates a weird fantasy story out of nothing. Despite being completely on the spot, he manages to entertain us for quite a while. Miyako tries to add in her own crude humor, earning a quick scolding from Yoshiki, but Hibiki just rolls with it and continues. I notice he talks an awful lot with his hands, and needs to move around to properly convey the story.

As soon as Hibiki proudly says "The End," the rest of us applaud him. He grins at us, putting his hair clips back in.

Just a moment later, I feel something small hit the back of my head. I wince, turning around to see what it was. As soon as I do, something hits my arm.

"Ow!" Miyako inhales sharply, rubbing her arm. Yoshiki lets out a small squeak right after.

I look back over to see Takara standing and looking up. "It's hailing."

"What?" Miyako stands, then winces again.

"It's hailing," Takara repeats. "We need to get inside. It'll be dangerous soon."

I quickly stand up, taking Yoshiki's hand to help her up as well. Miyako is already running for the closest building, and we follow. The hail gets heavier as we run, and the pieces get bigger. Before any of us can take any real damage, though, we're in the arcade. I take a deep breath. I can't remember the last time I was in a hailstorm, much less one that sudden. Was this part of the motive or just bad luck..?

"Geez…" Takara rubs his head. "That was sudden.." 

"Yeah.." Yoshiki brushes off her clothes and looks outside. "..It looks very bad now..how long do you think it'll last?"

"I hope it isn't long," Miyako huffs. "Well, at least we're trapped in here! Who wants to battle me in some games?"

The hail doesn't let up for a while, so the five of us spend a while in the arcade. Miyako ends up getting a little too competitive, so I step back for a good portion of the time. It is nice though, seeing everyone getting along and smiling. 

Eventually, the weather clears up. Miyako, Yoshiki, and I decide that it’s about time for lunch. Takara and Hibiki decline our offer to stay back for a bit.

When the three of us step outside, the atmosphere has changed again. Instead of the half-and-half sky from this morning, the sky was now a sickening shade of yellow.

Miyako grimaces. “Weeeird…”

I frown. It was weird, and a little unsettling, but it’s honestly more unsettling that Monokuma thinks this will get us to kill. I guess he just assumes someone will just get annoyed by it…

We all arrive at the hotel and make our way to the dining hall. However, when we reach the door, it’s closed. That was a little unusual, since the door was always left open..Miyako tries to turn the doorknob, but nothing happens. It’s locked.

“What the fuck?” Miyako sputters, trying again. Still nothing. 

After trying a few more times, A voice speaks up from behind us.

“Sorry, sorry!” Monokuma appears suddenly behind us, causing Yoshiki to jump. He walks up the door. “I was just doing a little redecorating, didn’t realize I left the door locked..” He pulls out a key and unlocks the door for us. “There ya go!” He’s gone before any of us can respond.

“..Huh,” Miyako clicks her tongue. Then she just shrugs and opens the door.

When we walk inside, the tables and chairs...are nowhere to be seen. Well, at first they are. Then, Yoshiki points up, and Miyako and I look up to see that they’re been moved to the ceiling, upside down. So that’s what Monokuma meant by redecorating…

“Jesus..” Miyako furrows her brow, then just shrugs. “Whatever. We can eat on the floor. Or something.”

Yoshiki frowns, looking around. “I..guess so..” She mumbles.

We find that there’s a decent amount of food left over from yesterday’s lunch, so we prepare that and move to..well, eat on the floor. It’s not terrible, the floor is clean, but it does feel a little weird, especially knowing that the tables and chairs are on the ceiling above us.

I break off from the two of them once we finish eating and cleaning up. When I get outside, the sky is still that strange shade of yellow. I pause outside the hotel, unsure what to do with the rest of my day. I’m a bit relieved when I see Shiori approaching, hoping she’ll give me something to do with her for a while.

“Yo, Hotaru!” She calls to me, rushing to get to my side. “How are you? That hail storm was weird as fuck, huh?”

“Yeah..” I nod, tugging at my sleeve. “We were almost caught outside during it, too. We got inside before it got too bad, though..”

“That’s good,” She nods. “I’ve been in my cottage for a lot of today, sooo…” She clicks her tongue. “But I was just about ta go to my talent room, if you wanna go and hang out there?”

“Sounds good!” I respond. I’m glad she gave me something to do. Plus, I’d love to see her show off her talent.

“Cool!” She grabs my hand and rushes off to the talent development building. Not expecting her to drag me, I take a second to regain my footing and catch up with her. 

We enter, and Shiori lets go of my hand and hops over the counter to get to the key rack.

“Have you not been in your room yet?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Nah, I have,” Shiori shakes her head, swinging the key ring around her finger and hopping back to the other side of the counter. “I just know I’ll lose the key if I take it with, so it’s easier to keep it here.”

“Ah,” I nod. “Well, lead the way.”

Shiori opens the door to the hall and I follow her to the closest door on the right. Just like Kenji’s talent room, the entire door is painted. It’s designed with a saw and a hammer crossing in an X, and the rest of the door is painted yellow. I would say it fits Shiori pretty well…

Shiori unlocks the door and steps inside. The room is about the same size as Kenji’s, but it seems bigger since there isn’t a stage taking up as much space. There’s multiple workbenches and an entire wall full of tools. I also notice quite a few types of electric saws and safety equipment. There’s neatly organized shelves of different types and sizes of wood, as well. The walls are painted the same shade of yellow as the door.

Shiori walks over to one of the smaller tables, and I follow. There are multiple wood carving tools set out haphazardly, and whatever Shiori is working on sits next to them on the table.

“I started makin’ this yesterday because I was bored, but then I got distracted and just kinda left…” Shiori laughs, sitting down at the table and picking up the small wooden sculpture.

“What is it gonna be?” I ask, sitting down across from her.

She holds it up to show me. “Duck.” She answers simply.

“Oh?” I tilt my head. “Just...a wooden duck?”

“Yyyep,” Shiori nods, picking up one of the tools and starting to whittle away at the wood. “Like I said, I was just bored and thought ‘hey, I wanna carve a duck.’”

I chuckle softly. “I can respect that.”

Shiori and I continue to make light conversation as I watch her carve. She has an incredibly steady hand and is extremely precise and careful with the tools. Her personality alone would make you believe she wouldn’t be so careful, but..I guess she isn’t the Ultimate Carpenter for nothing. It’s kind of mesmerizing to watch, and eventually I just fall silent as I watch her work. Faster than I expect, she finishes up. She immediately seems to fall out of her focus and grins wide, holding up her work. It’s relatively simple, but it’s definitely a wooden duck, and the detail work is impeccable.

“Whadda ya think?” She asks, lowering the sculpture to look at it herself. “It still needs varnish and stuff, but the actual carving is done.”

“I think it’s great,” I smile at her. “ I don’t think I could ever do something like that..”

“Pssh,” She waves a hand dismissively. “If you really wanted to, I’m sure you could.” She stands up, gingerly placing the duck down on the table. “Do you wanna go get dinner? I’m star-ving.”

“Sounds good,” I nod, standing up. Shiori is already halfway out the door when I stand.

We step outside, and are immediately hit with bright light.

“What the hell?” Shiori winces, holding an arm up to shield her eyes. “Shouldn’t it be dark by now? It’s like a summer afternoon out here!”

I blink a few times to adjust to the light. “Jesus..” I whisper, then just shake my head. “Whatever. It’s..just the motive. Again. Let’s go eat..”

Shiori shrugs. “Yeah. Guess there’s nothin’ we can do about it, anyway.” 

The dining room is still “redecorated” when we enter. No surprise there. Shiori and I both get premade food from the kitchen and sit across from each other on the floor. We’re both silent for a bit. 

Shiori finally speaks up. “You..don’t think anyone’s actually gonna do it, do you?” She asks, much quieter than her usual tone.

I frown, looking up at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean..” She clears her throat. “Do you think this motive is really gonna get anyone to kill? No one’s...that bothered by it, right?”

I furrow my brow. “I..don’t think so. We can never really be sure, but I’m pretty sure we can wait this one out. However that’ll work...I dunno.” I’m trying not to lose hope, but..will waiting it out be an option? None of us have actively looked for a way out since the first day, as far as I know. And this weird stuff might just keep going forever..or until someone kills…

“Hey, don’t feel bad!” Shiori immediately cheers up again. “We’re gonna find who’s behind this and beat their face in! No one else is gonna die. I’m sure of it!”

I laugh weakly. I appreciate that she’s trying… “Yeah. You’re right." I can’t mope around or let any of this get to me. We saw what happened last time, no one would kill again after that.

I leave the hotel alone again, deciding to just retire to my cottage for the night. The sun is still out, so it might be hard to fall asleep, but I’m exhausted from the day and at least need to be alone.

When I’m back in my cottage, I take a quick shower and change into more comfortable clothes. It feels weird that I’m starting to get a schedule in this place...I don’t want to get used to it. With a sigh, I lay down on my bed and stare at the ceiling, just thinking. I still can’t believe two people are dead...their lives still seem so fresh in my mind. Trying to really process that they’re dead makes me feel sick..

_”It is now 10 PM, which means nighttime has started! Sleep tight!!”_

I flinch as the distorted announcement plays. Is it really that late..? I guess I was zoned out for a while..not to mention the light coming through my window doesn’t help. Speaking of which..I pull myself out of bed and walk over to the window. I draw the curtains as tightly as I can. It doesn’t help too much, but I’ll hopefully still be able to sleep.

I sigh and crawl under my covers. It takes significantly longer than usual, but eventually I drift off to sleep.

_”Good morning, students! It is now 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Let’s greet another wuuuhhnnnderful day!”_

Monokuma’s announcement sounds even more distorted than yesterday, somehow. Still, I barely open my eyes as I hear it. I’m still exhausted..I don’t want to get up yet. So, I close my eyes and fall right back to sleep.

When I finally get up, it’s around 9:30. I stretch and pull myself out of bed, rubbing my eyes. As I start to really wake up, I realize that my room seems..darker than it did when I fell asleep. Frowning, I make my way to the window and open the curtains. And..it’s dark outside. The clock said it was morning, right..? I guess they were switching night and day for the motive now. Weird.

I leave my cabin, feeling strange walking outside in the darkness. I can’t help but get the same kind of eerie feeling I did the other day out here in the dark. Shaking my head, I make a path for the hotel.

When I make it to the dining hall, the only other people there are Takara and Kaori. To no surprise, Takara’s scribbling in his notebook as he finishes off a bowl of cereal. I sit across from him, giving a small wave. He looks up quickly, surprised to see me.

“Ah,” He clears his throat. “Good morning, Hotaru. M..Morning? It’s morning, right?” He laughs nervously.

I frown a bit. He’s getting freaked out again, poor boy… “It is. It doesn’t seem like it, I know...hopefully it’ll get at least lighter again. It’s tripping me out, too..”

“Yeah..” He sighs, rubbing at his eyes. Then, he stands up, shutting his notebook. “I’m..gonna go find Hibiki. I haven’t seen him yet today…”

“Alright,” I respond. “I’ll see you later.”

Takara just gives me a stiff nod and walks off, leaving his unfinished cereal bowl at the table. 

Kaori watches him leave with a frown. “I don’t blame him for getting a little worked up. This is all making me feel a bit strange as well.” She brushes some hair from her face. “I’m not a fan of things being out of place, either.”

I clean up Takara’s bowl for him and get myself some cereal as well. Kaori and I talk a bit, but it seems neither of us are up for much conversation right now. I still feel exhausted..I guess I didn’t sleep very well because of the light. Maybe some coffee would help...but I’m not very good at making it myself. Once I finish cleaning up my breakfast, I say goodbye to Kaori, leave the hotel and make my way to the coffee shop. It’s still really jarring to step out into the darkness, but I take a deep breath and just try to ignore it. 

When I step into the coffee shop, I notice Chiyoko out of the corner of my eye. She’s sitting at a table in the far corner of the shop, reading a book. I decide that she probably doesn’t want to be bothered. My eyes move to the corner, and I suddenly realize that there aren’t any workers. Obviously. What was I supposed to do..?

“Call Nakukuma on your Monopad,” I hear Chiyoko’s voice from her table. I turn to look at her. She didn’t even look up from her book when she spoke.

“Oh,” I laugh awkwardly. I probably should’ve been able to figure that out myself...I take my monopad out of the pocket of my jacket and press the blue button in the bottom left corner. In a few moments, Nakukuma appears, standing on the counter.

“Yes?” He asks. “Wh-What do you need?”

“Oh, um,” I clear my throat, approaching the counter. “Just, um, a vanilla latte, please.”

“Coming..r-right up!!” Nakukuma nods. 

“Thank you,” I give him a small smile and sit down at the closest table. It feels strange to see a cafe of this size so empty..it’s not particularly big, but it’s definitely bigger than a 16-person facility would need.

A few minutes later, Nakukuma arrives at my table and hands me my coffee. I thank him again, and he leaves as quickly as he came. I barely let the drink cool before I take a sip. It’s...not bad. Definitely better than I could make.

As I silently drink my coffee, I catch a glimpse of Chiyoko again for just a moment, and I remember the conversation we had the other day. Is there...really a traitor here? I look away again, but then after a few seconds..

“Chiyoko?”

She looks up at me, looking more annoyed than I have probably ever seen a human being. “What?”

“..Sorry,” I apologize, clearing my throat. “I’m just..thinking. About what you said the other day.”

“And what about it?” She shuts her book and leans back in her seat. 

“Well..” I let out a short breath. “I dunno. I just..I guess it’s possible that one of us is a traitor. But..do you think whoever it is is doing it willingly? That they’re a part of whatever is running this? Or maybe..they’re a normal student who just got roped into something?”

“I can’t say,” Chiyoko shakes her head. “Either is possible...but if I had to take a guess, they’re a member of the organization posing as an Ultimate Student. But we don’t know anything for sure.”

“Mhm..” I sigh and take another sip of coffee. “It’s just..I don’t want to believe that anyone here has been..faking this whole time.”

“Then maybe you should watch who you get attached to,” Chiyoko’s voice turns cold suddenly, and she narrows her eyes a bit. “You can’t trust anyone here, we’ve seen that from experience.”

“I-” I swallow hard. “I don’t think that’s fair, Chiyoko. If we don’t-”

I’m interrupted by the sound of the announcement bell and the monitor in the cafe turning on. And we hear Monokuma speak, in his normal voice.

_”A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, the trial will commence! Please make your way to the warehouse on the east street!”_

“Shit!” I shout, standing up and slamming my hand on the table, causing my entire cup of coffee to fall over. I ignore it, turning and bolting for the door. I don't even check to see if Chiyoko follows. _There’s no way, no, no, no…_

I nearly slip and fall as I run towards the warehouse. I’m paying no mind to my surroundings, and I almost run straight into buildings and lightpoles as I run. Out of breath, I skid to a halt in front of the warehouse. My hands are shaking, I can hear my heart in my head…

Ignoring my anxiety, I pull open the warehouse door. I see Kaori, Shiori, and Hachiro standing near the doorway. And then, my eyes drift to the floor…

Laying in a pool of blood, crumpled into a heap, is a corpse. I can’t see his face, but I easily recognize the body from behind.

_Akio Fuyuko, the Ultimate Graphic Designer, is dead._


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OOPS it's kind of been a while, huh? I got a new obsession and new brainworms and finding motivation to think about danganronpa was hard. i won't be abandoning tke, though!

I stumble backwards, hitting the wall of the warehouse. People start rushing in, one after the other. My eyes are trained on the body, but I can pick out voices as people enter.

"Oh goodness.." I hear Yoshiki gasp from the doorway.

"Oh shit!" Miyako shouts.

Soon enough, everyone else gathers in the warehouse, equally in awe at the corpse. Well, almost everyone.

"Hm," Chiyoko just hums, brushing some hair from her face. "Pity."

"Dude, Akio's fuckin' dead!" Shiori looks at her, eyes wide. "That's all you have to say?"

"Don't..call me that," Her nose scrunches, and I see her cheeks flush slightly. 

"Surely you all have better to do than gawk," Ayako pipes up, unemotional as ever. "You know how this works."

The room falls silent, though there is a clear, sharp energy gravitating around Ayako and Chiyoko. I shakily pull myself off the wall, then reach into my jacket for my Monopad.

_The victim is Akio Fuyuko.  
The time of death is 12:10 PM.  
The cause of death is blunt force.  
The body was discovered in the warehouse._

A frown falls on my face. Poor Akio..he was so sweet. I can't imagine anyone trying to kill him, much less anyone here.

After the crowd thins out, I hesitantly move towards the body. There's so much blood...his fatal wound isn't visible because of how he's lying, but it's still awful to see. I get as close as I can without touching any of the blood and start inspecting the body. It looks like he was hit on the side of the head, and a head wound like that would probably kill you instantly… I take a look around the body. There's no sign of a murder weapon around, and Akio's glasses are laying right next to his head. Guess they fell when he did. I'm about to stand up when something catches my eye. It's small, and might've easily been overlooked, but it stands out enough for me to notice it. There's something sitting in the pool of blood, small and bright. I lean in to get a closer look, and realize that it's a few pieces of broken, bright green plastic. Huh. I don't wanna touch the blood to get a better look, so I decide to leave it alone for now.

I stand up, taking a deep breath to ground myself a bit. We jumped into this investigation pretty quickly, but..I still can't believe someone else is dead. Someone..really committed murder again, even after what happened last time. 

My eyes fall to the east wall of the room, where there are still dozens of weapons organized neatly. That would probably be a good place to look… My eyes graze over the sharp weapons and fall on the blunt ones. There’s..a lot of them. After getting a good look at them, I come to the conclusion that none of them are missing or seem out of place. Not a drop of blood anywhere. With the time of death, it seems unlikely that the killer could have cleaned the weapon and put it back, but...maybe I'll check again later. 

I decide to take a big sweep of the warehouse before leaving. As I start to walk down one of the aisles of shelves, I see Kaori, inspecting something. I run to catch up to them.

“What’s up?” I ask.

Kaori looks up, expression unchanging. “The boxes on this shelf are for clothes, presumably for the store. But this one is almost entirely empty…”

I frown. As far as I know, there haven’t been enough clothes out of the store for there to be a need to restock...and not even restocking one whole box is strange.

“And, look,” Kaori tilts the box in my direction so I can get a better look.

My eyes widen. Smeared on the inner sides, and covering a good few spots on the remaining clothes in the box, is blood. The killer clearly made no attempt to get rid of it..guess they were in a hurry. Don't know what they'd need clothes for, though…

I don't find anything else that seems important in the rest of the warehouse, so I decide to look elsewhere.

I find myself keeping my gaze on the ground as I leave the warehouse, and I'm glad I do. Out of the corner of my eye, I just barely catch a glimpse of something staining the ground. I walk closer, and realize that there are small blood splatters strewn about the ground. There are no footprints or anything, but they can give me a decently clear path, likely to where the killer went. I keep my eyes on the ground to try and make the drips out as best as possible, which causes me to nearly run headfirst into a tree. A tree! The park...they likely just walked through, but it won't hurt to look…

Keeping relatively close to the blood trail, I start investigating the park. Everything seems alright, except for the blood. I'm about to give up when something catches my eye. Partially obscured by the grass, lying next to a tree, is a crumpled piece of paper. Frowning, I walk over and kneel down to pick it up. After smoothing it out enough to try and look at it, I read,

_Please meet me in the warehouse at noon. I have something important to talk about. Come alone._

_Thank you._

I furrow my brow. The note is barely legible. And I'm surprised I can make anything out at all. Oh boy… Moving the paper closer to my face, I conclude that there isn't, and likely was never, a signature on the paper. This was no doubt written to Akio by the killer… Huh. I crumple the note again and put it back near where I found it. I hope its placement isn't a crucial clue or anything…

I turn my attention back to the blood trail. It keeps going past the park, so I continue to follow it. I walk the path as best I can, though the splatters are getting few and far-between. The trail looks to be leading to the talent development building, and I stop in front of it to see Hibiki about to walk in. He turns his head in my direction and greets me with a smile.

"Hey! Big sis 'Taru!" 

I startle a bit at the nickname. Does he...really think of me that way? I can't be that much older than him, right? I clear my throat. "Uh...hey, Hibiki. Are you going to investigate here?"

"Sure am!" Hibiki nods. He's so cheerful, even now.. "Wanna come with?"

“Yeah, I was planning on looking around here,” I nod.

With a grin, Hibiki opens the door and steps aside to let me in. I give him a grateful nod before walking into the building.

When we enter, I see through the glass doors that one of the talent rooms is open. Someone is probably already in there and propped the door open to let other people investigate. As Hibiki and I push open the glass doors, I realise that it's Shiori's talent room that's open.

Cautiously, I peek into the talent room before entering. The only other person in there is Takumi, who’s vigorously washing their hands at the sink in the corner of the room. I frown a little, but walk in regardless. Hibiki follows. As soon as Takumi dries their hands, they rapidly shake their hands at their sides. They look..uncomfortable.

“Takumi?” I ask, taking a few steps towards them. “You okay?”

Takumi stops as soon as I speak, eyes widening in embarrassment. They shove their hands into their jacket pockets. “..Yeah. Yeah. I just...touched something weird when I opened the door handle…”

“Something weird?” I frown and turn back to look at the door. When I do, Hibiki has already gone to investigate.

“Oh,” His face drops. “There’s, um...it looks like blood.”

“Blood?” I repeat, walking over to get a look for myself. As I lean down to get a better look, I see it, clear as day. Blood on the door handle, relatively fresh. There’s not much, but there’s definitely enough for it to cause a problem when you opened the door. I assume Takumi probably had an aversion to the texture or feeling as well...touching blood when you don’t expect it probably isn’t the best experience.

Regardless, that’s a clue. That means the killer definitely went in here. I turn back around and look at Takumi, who’s taken to fidgeting with their necklaces. I decide to leave them alone for now. As I take in the room, something catches my eye. One of the cabinets on the other end of the talent room looks to be partially opened. I assume that they’re for storing tools or projects, but..I’ve only seen Shiori make one thing, and her wooden duck is still sitting on the table she made it at. I make my way to the cabinet and carefully open it. As soon as I do, though, something comes tumbling out. Surprised, I gasp and quickly step backwards to avoid it. What falls out is...clothes. Only a few actually fall onto the floor, but the cabinet looks stuffed with them. I kneel down to get a better look at the ones that fell. It’s just a few shirts...and they look new. In fact, they all have price tags. Huh. As carefully as I can, I start pulling more clothes out of the cabinet. All of them have price tags, and some of them are smeared with blood. From what I can tell, they’re mostly from bloodied hands. They’re pretty tightly packed in, so it takes longer than I expect to get through them, but when I do, something more surprising catches my attention. In the back of the cabinet, having been completely surrounded by those clothes, is a bloodied mallet. _Very_ bloodied. I can only assume that it’s the murder weapon...but where did it come from?

After trying to put the clothes back the best I can, I take another look around the room. My eyes fall on the wall of carpentry tools. A mallet could’ve reasonably come from there, right? I walk over to get a better look.

“What’re you looking for?” I hear someone say from beside me. I turn to see Takumi, staring up at the wall of tools.

“Oh, uh..” I clear my throat, looking back. “I’m trying to see if maybe the murder weapon came from here..I found a mallet in a cabinet over there.”

Takumi just nods, and starts scanning the wall as well. Even after taking a few passes, nothing seems to suggest that any of the tools are missing. In fact, there are a couple of perfectly clean mallets still on the wall. Then where did they get it from…?

The last thing I notice in the talent room is something in the trash can. I might not have noticed it if Hibiki hadn’t pointed it out, though.

“Hey, over here!” He waves me over as I’m inspecting under a table.

“Yeah?” I ask once I’m close enough.

“This trash can seems off, yeah?”

“Huh?” I furrow my brow and kneel down to look. Sure enough, there are bloodstains on the trash bag. The trash can is completely empty, too. “..Hm.”

I stand up and brush off my skirt. “I..think I’m gonna go check other places.” Waving to Takumi and then Hibiki, I make my way to the door.

“See ya, big sis ‘Taru!” I hear Hibiki call as I leave the room. I feel..a strange kind of pang in my heart at that. Something about it..makes me feel responsible for him. If he really sees me as a sister figure...shouldn’t I be looking after him?

I quickly shake off the thought. That’s not what I should be focusing on. When my thoughts clear, I notice someone down the hall. Yoshiki looks to have just been in another room. She may have found something…

“Hey, Yoshiki!” I call, jogging over to the other end of the hallway. “Did you find anything?”

She startles when I call her name, but then nods. “I did.” She gestures to the door behind her. “In the bathroom. I..found some evidence in there, but I also noticed something interesting.”

“What is it?” I ask, brushing some hair from my face.

“Well..” She starts. “Every building has at least one bathroom, except the warehouse. This building, the arcade, and the coffee shop only have one gender-neutral bathroom. The rest of the buildings have either only boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, or also have a gender-neutral bathroom. The locker rooms by the pool have one single-person changing room that is gender-neutral, one girls’ locker room, and one boys’ locker room.”

“Huh,” I mumble. I guess that makes sense...there are multiple people here that aren’t boys or girls, but I suppose not every building really accommodates for that...I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the murder, though. Regardless, I’ll keep it in mind. “Do you mind if I take a look in this bathroom?”

“Oh, I do not mind!” Yoshiki shakes her head. “Go ahead. I’m going to see if I can find anything else.”  
I nod and step inside the bathroom. It’s a pretty small bathroom, only meant for one person, so the things Yoshiki probably found stand out easily.

The sink is stained a light pink, likely from someone washing their hands of blood. It’s all watered down, but whoever used it didn’t try very hard to hide why they used the sink. And on the floor, just strewn about, are multiple hand towels, also stained with blood. Someone definitely finished cleaning up their mess here...but why the bathroom? If this was their last stop, why didn’t they just wash their hands in the sink in Shiori’s talent room?

After leaving the talent building, I find myself unsure of where to go next. After a moment of thinking and looking around the street aimlessly, it hits me. I should check Akio’s room. Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier? Whatever, there’s still some time left in the investigation, I should go make sure he didn’t leave any clues behind.

I find myself needing to take a deep breath before entering Akio’s cottage. I still haven’t really processed that he’s gone...just yesterday he was hanging out with us, enjoying himself. Happy. My hands start to shake as I reach for the doorknob. Now isn’t the time to reminisce...we can mourn after his killer receives justice. Suddenly, I feel myself flushed with overwhelming adrenaline and rage, and I pull open the door forcefully. Akio didn’t deserve to die. No one deserved to die. We’re going to figure this out, and we’re going to get out of here.

The first thing I do is take a big sweep of the cottage to see what stands out. I don’t see much...but his desk does look like a mess. There are quite a few crumpled papers, and a small stack of wrinkled ones. His notepad is flipped to a fresh page on the middle of his desk, and there’s a pen right beside it. He must’ve been writing a lot..

I sit down at the desk and start uncrumpling some of the papers. Most of them look like drafts of letters or something..they don’t have a signature or openers, but they’re all worded like they’re talking to someone. Most of them only get a few sentences in, though, before they stop abruptly and notes are scrawled in the margins. Most of them read things like “no, that sounds stupid!”, “does that make me sound weird?”, or “will they understand this?”. Huh..

I check out the stack of papers. They look like they had been folded or crumpled before, but were smoothed out as much as they could be. None of the notes are signed, but they are all addressed to Akio. I can’t really make out the handwriting on most of them, but I can get the general purpose of most of them. They seem to be theories and plans, all involving the killing game and, more specifically, how to escape or break it. Whoever wrote them seems pretty intelligent...despite the awful penmanship. Was Akio communicating with someone privately to try and find a way out? Why all the secrecy?

As I’m trying to sort out my thoughts, I hear the announcement bell chime. 

**”Ahem! Have you all investigated thoroughly? Honestly, I’m bored! Which means..it’s time for the class trial! Everybody gather at the clock tower at the end of Main Street!”**


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Trial
> 
> Wowie wow it's been a while,, I dont have an excuse other than my motivation got low, but I'm getting back in my groove again! (Speaking of which I wrote a sweet little Chiyoko/Hotaru oneshot thing, you can find it via my account or the series this is a part of)
> 
> Content Warnings for this chapter: transphobia(kind of?)/forced outing

My heart pounds in my ears as I walk to the clock tower. Did we really get enough evidence..? Guess it’s too late to worry about that. We just have to figure out who killed Akio...we have to.

We’re all silent as we stand outside of the clock tower. It feels like everyone is holding their breath, still trying to take it all in...another murder. Another trial. I..can’t believe this is happening again.

Without any warning or fanfare, the elevator in the clock tower opens up, waiting for us. I take the lead and step inside. There’s no use waiting, anyway. 

Kenji stands next to me in the elevator and leans in close. “You...seem more..forceful than I think I’ve seen you. You okay?”

My head snaps to the side sharply to look at them. “I’m...I dunno. But we have to...have to figure out who killed Akio. He deserves justice.”

Kenji just nods and looks away. All at once, the adrenaline and rage that had been fueling me escapes my body. It’s replaced with nothing but pure, unbridled fear. Justice is a myth in this place. We’re only figuring this all out to save our own skin. If we can’t solve this murder, it’s over for all of us.

When the elevator arrives at the top of the tower and we make our way inside, the first thing I notice is that the room is..redecorated. On the walls other than the clock, there are tapestries meant to replicate a lush green park. 

“Do you like how I redecorated the place?” Monokuma asks as we file into our podiums. “I didn’t want the place to get too boring.”

“I..I th-thought it was just fine how it was…” Nakukuma stammers.

“Well, I didn’t ask you!!” Monokuma huffs. “Alright, alright! You all remember how the trials work, yeah? Figure out the blackened or everyone but the blackened gets punished?”

“We get it!” Shiori cuts in. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“I suggest we begin with the murder weapon,” Yoshiki suggests politely. “It was not present at the crime scene, as far as I could tell. Did anyone figure it out?”

“It must’ve been a baseball bat!” Miyako speaks up. “I mean, it’s easy to cause a head wound with one, right?”

“Um, Miyako..” Takumi looks over at her. “Did you see a bat anywhere? There are...some in the warehouse, but..we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

“I checked the wall of weapons in the warehouse multiple times,” Kaori adds, deadpan as always. “None of the weapons seemed bloody or tampered with in any way. Considering the time of death, it seems very unlikely the killer could have cleaned their weapon, cleaned any blood off of themself, and returned the weapon to the warehouse in time without leaving a trace.”

“So..the weapon didn’t come from the warehouse?” Hibiki hums, tilting his head. “Where did it come from then? We don’t even know what it is, it could be anything!”

We know what the weapon is, right? I’m sure I found something that could at least move this conversation forward…

“I found a bloodied mallet,” I cut in awkwardly. “I’m almost certain it was the murder weapon.”

“Where did you find it, Hotaru?” Ayako raises an eyebrow at me.

“In..” I glance around the room, hesitant to answer. “..In Shiori’s talent room. It was stashed in a cabinet.” I leave out the details for now.

“So that’s it!” Ikirashi snaps her fingers. “The killer used a mallet from the warehouse, used it to kill Akio, then stashed it away! Easy-peasy.” She crosses her arms proudly.

“Hold on just a minute,” Takara furrows his brow. “Didn’t Kaori say that none of the weapons were tampered with? None of them were missing, right?”

That’s right. There weren’t any missing weapons in the warehouse, so where did the mallet come from..?

“Well, Hotaru said the mallet was in Shiori’s talent room…” Hachiro starts. “It could’ve very possibly come from there, right?”

“No way!” Shiori answers right away, shaking her head. “None of my tools were missing when I investigated. I woulda noticed.”

The room falls silent as everything tries to think it over. Like Kaori said, it’s not very likely that the killer cleaned their weapon and returned it in time, and I’ve seen the weapon...judging by how it was hidden, it likely wasn’t a plant.

“Monokuma, may I ask you something?” Ayako turns his eyes to the bear.

“Hm? What is it?” Monokuma hums.

Ayako crosses his arms. “You have mentioned before that we can call upon Nakukuma anytime we need...can Nakukuma bring us anything physical?”

“Indeed he can!” Monokuma answers cheerily and leans down to put a paw on Nakukuma’s shoulder. The other bear only whines in protest. “Isn’t he just the cutest, most helpful bear in the whole world???” 

“That confirms my suspicion, then,” He nods and turns to us then.

“What’re you talking about?” Miyako leans forward over her podium, narrowing her eyes.

“Perhaps..” Ayako begins. “..The killer asked for the mallet from Nakukuma in order to confuse us. It’s small enough that he could reasonably carry it, and the killer could possibly hide it on their person if they needed.”

Ayako is being..weirdly calm. And helpful. What’s he plotting?

“So we just need to figure out who asked for the weapon!” Kenji concludes, cheery, but they quickly slump. “..They could’ve asked at any time before the murder, though..”

“Um..” Hachiro clears his throat uncomfortably. “I..Um, I did..see Chiyoko talking to Nakukuma outside of her cottage the other day..it was the day of the pool party, so it was before the motive, but..”

“I..saw that too,” I confirm. I furrow my brow and move my gaze to Chiyoko. “It looked like a..pretty private conversation.”

“Excuse me?” Chiyoko quickly jumps to her own defense. “Why were you eavesdropping in the first place? I have no reason to kill anyone, much less before we even had another motive.”

“You’re awfully defensive,” Ayako snickers. It makes my stomach turn. Why is he enjoying this so much?

“What were you doing, then?” Miyako puts her hands on her hips and stares suspiciously at her.

“Yeah!” Hibiki chimes in. It...doesn’t feel fair to gang up on her like this.

“I was…” I can see the blood rushing to her cheeks. She crosses her arms tightly across her chest, clenching her eyes shut. “I…” She lets out a long, deep, breath, and looks at us with narrowed eyes. “..I was asking Nakukuma if I would be able to use the women’s locker room in the gym.”

“Huh?” Takumi frowns. “Why wouldn’t you?”

Chiyoko leans forward on her podium with one hand. “I’m transgender, you moron!” Immediately, she recedes back to a standing position and inhales deeply. “...I was just. Asking. About the locker rooms. Are you happy?”

The entire room is shocked into silence. A pang of shame rises in my stomach. I’m at fault for forcing her to out herself like that….Either way, we definitely won’t be getting much out of Chiyoko for the rest of the trial. And rightfully so.

“Now that that suspicion is covered..” Ayako continues on coolly, completely unaffected. “There is another option we can discuss.”

“Wh...Who?” Takumi mumbles. They still seem a little shocked from being yelled at.

“Why, our own Miss Carpenter, of course,” His eyes move to Shiori, and most of the room follows suit.

“Wh-?!” Shiori takes a step away. “Me? Why me?”

“Plenty of reasons,” Ayako tilts his head. “We have so much information based on the murder weapon alone.”

“The murder weapon was found in your talent room,” Kaori mutters, as if she’s rationalizing it to only herself.

“And you would know how to best use a mallet, since you’ve used them for carpentry..” Takara adds nervously.

“Are you kidding me?” Shiori scoffs, clenching her fists at her sides. “I’d never kill anyone, ‘specially not Akio!”

This doesn’t sit right with me..I really don’t think Shiori’s guilty. Besides, there’s still so much evidence we haven’t gone over..I just need to figure out how to convince everyone to rethink.

“It’s not a great idea to hide evidence in your own talent room, Shiori,” Miyako adds, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“Stop denying it!” Ikirashi yells. “You’re the only one who could’ve gotten into that room.”

“That isn’t true!” I interject. 

Iki frowns and turns to me. “What do you mean, it’s ‘not true?’ It’s her talent room, she has the key.”

“No, not always,” I shake my head. “Shiori never took her talent room key with her. It’s been on the key holder since the day it opened. Even when she goes inside, she’s put it back afterwards. I went with her to her room the other day, I saw.”

“So that means..” Yoshiki starts.

“..Anyone could’ve gotten into that room.” Hachiro finishes. “It..doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t Shiori, but it doesn’t narrow anything down.”

I see Shiori relax slightly. She’s not off the suspect list quite yet, but I honestly don’t think she did it. We can never be sure, though.

“Fine, then,” Ayako grumbles slightly, seeming disappointed that his accusation was disproven. “What other evidence do we have?”

“Let’s talk about the warehouse,” Takara suggests. “It’s the crime scene, after all.”

“Well, there was..a lot of blood..” Ikirashi pipes up. “The wound must've been pretty bad. If..If I had to guess, Akio probably died instantly.”

“I’d have to agree with you,” With a sigh, Hachiro tugs at his scarf. “I..inspected the wound myself. It was only a single blow, and it went..deep. It looks like he also received some other damage from hitting the concrete floor of the warehouse.”

“I noticed that too..” Shiori nods. “I didn’t want to mess with his body too much, but..it looks like his shoulder got damaged pretty bad.”

“So..even if he didn’t die instantly..” Kenji furrows their brow. “He probably wouldn’t have been able to..drag himself to a different place or anything. And there’s no evidence of the body being moved.”

“Yeah," I nod. I frown, trying to think of what else I found in the warehouse. "Kaori and I found some empty boxes meant for clothes. I can only assume they're meant for restocking the clothing store."

"Yes," Kaori confirms. "Unless someone else took them for whatever reason...I assume the killer used them for something. What it is, I..don't know."

"Hey, didn't you find a buncha clothes in Shiori's talent room?" Takumi asks, turning to me.

"Yeah," I nod. "There were a lot of clothes shoved into a cabinet. They were hiding the murder weapon when I found it. Some of them are at least a little bloodied, and a couple had price tags."

"Do you think it is possible that the killer's clothes were among those?" Yoshiki looks aside in thought. "It would be an effective way to hide their bloody clothes and make them harder to identify."

"Okay…" Hachiro frowns, tugging at his scarf. "That sounds about right, but...how would they get all those clothes from the warehouse all the way to the talent building without being caught?"

"Well.." Hibiki rocks on his heels. "They probably changed in the warehouse first? It's a pretty big place. There aren't any bathrooms, but...there's probably a place they could go out of sight."

"That still doesn't explain how they got the clothes there, though,” Kenji crosses their arms.

“Oh!” Miyako perks up. “There’s some space around the back of the buildings, right? Maybe they just went through the back!”

That can’t be right, though. I saw something that proved the route the killer took…

“No,” I shake my head. “When I was investigating, I noticed blood drops on the way to the talent building, they could’ve only gotten there if the killer walked straight through the park.”

“Oh,” She slumps. “How did they not get caught, though?”

“Did anyone see anything?” Iki asks. “Maybe we can go through everyone’s alibis for this morning.”

“I woke up late,” I start. “I saw Takara and Kaori in the dining hall around 9:45? Then I was with Chiyoko in the coffee shop until the body was discovered.” I glance over at her, as if to confirm. She doesn’t return the look, but gives a stiff nod.

“I was in my room most of the morning…” Hibiki confesses. “Takara came by for about an hour, though!”

“Hachiro and I ate breakfast together,” Miyako explains. “Then we hung out in the garden for a little.”

Takumi nods. “Yep! I saw the two of them in the dining hall around noon, and we ate lunch together.” 

A sigh escapes Hachiro. “I left the two of them after lunch to go look for something in the warehouse..and that’s when I found Akio’s body.”

“I was alone for some time, too,” Kenji rubs the back of their neck. “I was reading in the library after breakfast up until the announcement, so…”

“I passed Chiyoko in the morning, when she was on the way to the coffee shop..I saw Yoshiki and we talked for a bit, too,” Shiori hums. “Then I was at the gym, and then I..went to the warehouse and found the body.”

“I’ve been alone,” Ayako states, with the certainty of someone completely innocent.

“I’ll admit I’ve been a bit on edge all day..” Kaori rubs a strand of hair between their fingers as they speak. “I spent much of my time searching in different buildings to ensure everyone was okay. I must have missed the killer, though…”

“Kaori,” I look at them. “Did you see anything weird? See anyone..carrying anything to the talent building or something?”

She sighs. “No. I might have caught a glance of someone going to take out trash, but...nothing particularly strange. I’m unsure who it was..”

Something about that sparks a realization. “Ah!” I exclaim. I immediately feel embarrassed at the sudden outburst, so I clear my throat before speaking. “The trash. The killer stored all of the clothes and the weapon in a trash bag, and walked out in the open under the guise of taking out trash!”

“Huh,” Ayako clicks his tongue. “Interesting.”

“So that bloodied trash bag we saw in Shiori’s talent room…” Takumi nods. “That was probably the trash bag they used.”

“I don’t think I’ve thrown anything away in that room, anyway, soo..” Shiori lets out a short breath. “That tracks. They could replace the bag pretty easy.”

“And it would be easy to use their excuse if they got caught,” Iki adds. “They could have gotten rid of the evidence in the hotel trash room just as easily, but they wanted an opportunity to frame someone.”

“But they didn’t get caught,” Takara furrows his brow. “So they were able to get rid of the evidence in Shiori’s room…”

“Okay, so…” Kenji squeezes their eyes shut for a moment. “The killer got to Akio in the warehouse around noon, killed him with a mallet they got from Nakukuma, then shoved the weapon, their bloodied clothes and random new clothes from the warehouse into a trash bag. They probably changed into clothes similar to their own, too.”

“Then they walked to the talent building, still having blood on them, took Shiori’s key, and dropped the evidence in her room,” Hachiro finishes. “What are we missing?”

“There was other evidence in the talent building,” I speak up. “In..the bathroom. There were some bloody towels and blood in the sink.”

“Huh?” Kenji looks confused. “There’s a sink in Shiori’s room, right? Why didn’t they just clean up there?”

I’m about to speak when Yoshiki cuts in. “To confuse us, I think. To...make the case more ambiguous. The bathroom in the talent building is gender neutral, and the only bathroom in the building. It...It is likely that they assumed we might know about Shiori’s room key, and wanted to make sure we still couldn’t narrow our suspicions.” She paused. “..I also think that there are not enough towels in that room to properly clean the amount of blood left on them.”

“That...makes sense, I think,” I take a deep breath, trying to think. I feel like we still don’t have anything… If this killer’s goal was to confuse, they sure as hell achieved it. “...Does anyone know why Akio went to the warehouse?” I might have an idea, but…

“I mean,” Hibiki shrugs. “He could’ve just been looking for something?”

“Yes, but…” I shake my head. “The killer couldn’t have just happened to know that Akio was there and have their entire plan set up in such a short time.” I hesitate before continuing. “..I think the killer lured him to the warehouse.”

Takumi frowns at me. "Really? Why do you think?"

"I-I mean-" I stammer. "Like I said, the timing is way too convenient, and I…" I take a second to compose myself. "I found a couple of things that...strongly suggest Akio was told to be there at a certain time."

"And what, pray tell, would that evidence be?" Ayako seems...annoyed.

I sigh. "Well, first off, there was a note. On the ground in the park. It was near some of the blood drips. It...It was pretty hard to read, but it was definitely asking whoever got the note to meet in the warehouse at noon."

"Interesting," Ayako clicks his tongue. "So the killer planned this out in advance, and specifically chose to target poor Akio…"

"Okay, but.." Takara frowns. "Would Akio just trust a note like that? It could be a plant. He was a pretty nervous guy…"

Closing my eyes, I try and form my next words. "Well...I think it was from someone he already trusted."

"And who would that be?" Chiyoko finally speaks up again. "As far as I knew, Akio didn't have anyone here he was particularly close to."

"That's what I thought too, but.." I cross my arms. "I looked in Akio's cottage and found some...interesting stuff. It looks like he was communicating with someone about the killing game. I think they were planning to stop it..or something."

"I found those as well," Kaori confirms. "I didn't bring it up because I was unsure of their relation to the murder...but I didn't see the note in the park. Do you think the person Akio was communicating with was also his killer?"

I nod. "Almost certain. The penmanship is really similar."

"How devious…" Ayako chuckles. "Luring him into a false sense of security, then killing him in cold blood…"

"Will you shut up?" Kenji snaps at him. He just laughs again, but doesn't say another word.

"Hm.." Shiori mutters. "What did the handwriting look like? Were there any, like...speech patterns or something that might give us a clue?"

"Um.." I try to think back. "I mean, the handwriting is...mostly illegible. I could barely make out what most of the letters say. From what I can tell, though, the person is pretty smart."

There's a stillness as we try and put pieces together. The killer really did make this hard on us…

"I mean…" Hachiro says, hesitant. "..I remember when Takara was doing math at the breakfast table a few days ago, his handwriting was pretty messy…"

"What?" Hibiki speaks up before Takara can. "Are you trying to accuse him?? Over handwriting?"

"Hibiki.." Takara says, calm. "It's just..an observation. It's...fair of you to be suspicious, but that's hardly anything to go off of." He pauses, looking like he's contemplating something. "...Hotaru, you've been leading a lot of this discussion. I don't mean to be rude, but...this murder seems pretty precisely planned. Something… It's pretty fitting for an Ultimate Strategist."

 _God, not this again._ "I have an alibi, Takara. You aren't helping your case but throwing out accusations."

"Don't be mean!" Hibiki points to me. "Why would Taka kill anyone? Where's the evidence!"

"No one's throwing out any hard accusations Hibiki," Yoshiki looks at him, some sympathy in her eyes. "We're just trying to work things out."

Hibiki crosses his arms and pouts, and the room falls silent again. We're stuck again...

"Um.." Ikirashi raises a hand. "This...might not mean anything, but I noticed something a little...weird about the Monokuma file."

"The file?" Kenji repeats with a frown. "What is it?"

"Well, you see…" She explains. "Last time, the first….murder, the time of death was _approximate._ But this time, it looked like it was specific. Like I said, it might not mean anything.."

"Then..maybe the killer was particular about the time Akio died?" Hachiro suggests. "I dunno if that would affect the way Monokuma puts in the information, but...if they watched for a particular time of death, maybe Monokuma would have put the exact time in the file."

Ayako turns his gaze to Takara, cold and unfeeling. "That kind of precision _seems very fitting_ for an Ultimate Mathematician with a habit of keeping things specific."

"Wh-" Takara is less calm this time. He just shakes his head. "You realize how ridiculous of an accusation this is, right? Handwriting and something _Monokuma_ did?"

"I mean.." Yoshiki looks down, hands folded in front of her. "You were the one most affected by the motive…"

"So?" Takara scoffs. "I didn't like everything being weird, but I wouldn't kill over it! Who says this had to do with the motive at all?"

"Yeah!" Hibiki shouts. "Why are you accusing him? This is a stupid motive to kill over, and Takara would never do that!"

"Ikirashi said the same thing about her dear Yuuka," Ayako's haze turns to Hibiki.

We aren't getting anywhere...we can't be certain, but...Takara fits all the clues. He has no real alibi, the most motive, and seems to be the person Akio was communicating with. There has to be something else…

"There was one more piece of evidence left at the crime scene."

The chaos in the trial room falls silent as everyone looks at me. I take a deep breath.

"It was hard to notice, but…" I explain, my voice shaky. "There was something...something in the pool of blood by the body. A piece of plastic. Bright green...looks like it was just a crushed bit from something else."

"How is that supposed to prove anything?" Takara sputters. 

"I think it was one of Hibiki's hair clips."

"But.." Takumi tilts their head. "Wouldn't that point it to Hibiki?"

"No!" Miyako perks up as she realizes. "Hibiki gave some of them to Takara! He must've dropped one while he killed Akio, and stepped on it!"

 _"What?"_ Takara looks at all of us in disbelief.

Hibiki is really angry now. "That's stupid! You're stupid! It's-" He pauses for just a second. "It's my hair clip! I did it, okay?!" 

I let out a long sigh. "Hibiki, please don't do that. We know it isn't you. I know this is hard to hear…"

"Ugh!" Hibiki groans, shaking his head in anger. "It's not Taka! I won't believe it!"

I glance at Takara, who is stunned speechless. Letting out another sigh, I try and compose myself again. "..Alright, then. Maybe if we go over the case from the beginning you'll believe me."

"Sometime before noon, Akio received a note, telling him to meet in the warehouse at noon. The person who wrote him this note had been communicating with him for some time before, making plans about trying to stop the killing game. Akio did as the note said, and the killer met him there. When the time was right, the killer used a mallet they got from Nakukuma earlier to hit Akio in the head. When he hit the floor, Akio hurt his arm. The killer watched for the exact time that Akio died, then got to work covering up the murder. They gathered random articles of clothing from the warehouse, changed out of their bloody clothes and into ones that matched or almost matched their usual outfit. Then, they shoved the clothes and the murder weapon into a trash bag, also presumably from the warehouse. What the killer didn't count on was the plastic hair clip they dropped and crushed on the warehouse floor, leaving behind the tiniest bit of evidence by the body.

"With their bag of evidence, the killer was able to pass as someone taking out trash. They were still bloodied, but were able to hide it well enough. Kaori caught a glance of them while looking around, but was unable to identify them. Using the key that she always keeps in the open, the killer went into Shiori's talent development room and stashed their evidence there in an attempt to frame her. Then, they cleaned up the rest of their mess in the talent building bathroom. And they found the body with the rest of us about an hour later.

"And the only one who could have done this...is you, Takara Ren, Ultimate Mathematician."

I look around at everyone, then keep my gaze on Takara. He looks so nervous… "Did I get that right?"

"I.." He mutters. But that's all he can do.

"No!" Hibiki yells, gripping his podium. "No, it isn't him!"

"Hibiki…" Hachiro says softly, sadly.

"Sounds like voting time!!" Monokuma is giddy. It makes me sick to my stomach.

The voting screen on our podiums light up. My hands shake as I reach to vote for Takara. I don't want to, it feels wrong, but..what choice do we have? I just hope we didn't make the wrong deduction.

Soon enough, everyone's voted. We turn our attention to the clock as it lights up with that same slot machine image that was there last time. It spins and spins, and eventually lands on Takara.

"Looks like a majority vote for Takara Ren!" Monokuma exclaims. "With a few exceptions…and Akio Fuyuko's killer was...Takara Ren, the Ultimate Mathematician!"

Hibiki stares at the screen in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape. 

"I'm.." Takara staggers backwards, clutching at his chest. "I'm...so sorry, I-.." He shakes his head and chuckles sadly. "I couldn't do it. I-..I couldn't keep going while everything was wrong."

"Really?!" Miyako stands up straight. "You fuckin'... _killed_ Akio because you didn't like things being all weird?"

"Yes!" Takara snaps, but quickly slumps again. "..It wasn't just that, I…" He swallows hard. "...I had convinced myself that things..things would be alright here, if I just had people to get through it with, but...but then things started getting weird, and I just, just can't do that, and then it felt like people were avoiding me, and I just…" Even from where I'm standing, I can see him tearing up. "..I just want to go home."

The room falls silent, but only for a moment. The next instant, Hibiki breaks away from his podium and runs behind Chiyoko to get to Takara. He wraps him up in a big hug, face buried in his chest.

"I'm sorry!" He shouts to the stunned Takara. "Please don't go…"

Takara hesitantly puts a hand on Hibiki's shoulder, and he sniffs. "No, I'm sorry, I...Hibiki, please just let me go. I knew this was coming."

**"Eugh! I'm getting bored agaaaainnn! Let's go, let's go! IIIIT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"**

"W-Wait, no!" Hibiki shouts, attention now turned to Monokuma.

_Subtract A Life_

_The Ultimate Mathematician's Execution: Executed_

_The lights inside the trial room go out, and when they turn back on, Takara is standing in the same space as the first execution. Instead of a stage, he stands at the back of a classroom. It's dark, and difficult to see much. After about a second, a green light flashes on one of the desks, and a paper and pencil are visible. Confused and panicked, Takara sits down and picks up the pencil. He takes a quick second to look at the paper before he starts scribbling furiously. A ten second timer starts behind him. As soon as that timer goes off, a light on a different desk flashes, and he rushes to that. The process repeats a few times. If he gets the question wrong, or doesn't finish in time, some weapon appears and leaves him with a new mark. Soon, he is covered in cuts and stab wounds, too weak to continue. He falls to his hands and knees next to a desk, breathing heavily. The timer goes off again with a loud alarm, and now the entire room is bathed in red light. After just a second, A wide, sharp spike emerges from right below him and pierces his torso all the way through. He lets out a final, pained sound, then crumples to the ground. The classroom is covered in blood._

_Takara Ren, the Ultimate Mathematician, is dead._

My legs are shaking so badly I can barely move. Did that really just happen again? It was awful, but...I couldn't take my eyes off the execution. Once it's over, I manage to tear my attention away to realize what's happened with everyone else. Most everyone is frozen in place, shocked, like me. But then I see Hibiki, shaking while wrapped up in Yoshiki's arms. They're both close to the edge, where the drop to the execution stage begins. I can only guess he was ready to run straight into the execution.

No one says a word as we make our way to the elevator. Yoshiki keeps an arm around Hibiki and walks him there. I keep my eyes on the floor during the ride down. I didn't want to see what everyone else was feeling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Post-Trial

After we leave the clock tower, I find myself walking towards my cottage without even thinking. The sun is already starting to set, and I'm so tired… The people around me start to break off, most in groups. Yoshiki is leading Hibiki back to his cottage...poor boy. Everyone is losing so much so fast. For a moment I consider going with them-Hibiki does consider me a sister figure after all- but the thought quickly vanishes. I'm just too tired right now. As much as I want to, I don't think I'd be much help in this state.

As soon as I'm in my cottage, I collapse on my bed. That was all so exhausting, even more than last time… How many more times are we gonna have to do this? I don't know how much more death I can handle...it really doesn't feel like we're gonna get out of here. Ever.

I fall into a fitful sleep as these thoughts repeat in my head. I've never been the deepest sleeper, but this is the worst it's been in a very long time. My thoughts are all jumbled together into messy, half-asleep dreams, and I can't separate my conscious thoughts from the ones formed in my dreams.

After some time, a hard knock on my door jolts me awake. I quickly scramble to pull myself out of bed, convincing myself in my half-asleep state that I had to answer immediately. Once I’m out of bed and a little more awake, I open the door.

Chiyoko is standing at my door, a pile of wrinkled papers in her arms. “...Can we talk?”

\---

Yoshiki doesn’t let go of Hibiki until she can sit him down on his bed. Then, she starts slowly rubbing circles into his back.

As soon as he’s in bed, the shock wears off, and his eyes fill with tears. “Takara…” He mumbles as he starts to cry.

Yoshiki nods solemnly, continuing to rub his back. “Is there anything I can do..?”

“I…” HIbiki sniffs and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. After a moment, he leans into her and wraps his arms around her tightly. She returns the hug, giving him a tight squeeze.

“Thank you..” He mumbles into her shoulder as tears continue to fall.

“Of course,” She nods. “It’ll be alright, Hibiki. We’re going to get out of here.”

He sniffs again, staying silent for a few moments. “Are we…?”

She..isn’t sure how to answer. Instead, she hugs him tighter. The two stay in the hug for a little longer before Hibiki is a little calmer, and pulls away.

“You’re so good at taking care of everyone, ‘Shiki…” He mumbles, rubbing his nose with his sweater sleeve. “..Who’s gonna take care of you when you need it?”

She shakes her head slowly. “I’ll figure it out, don’t worry about that right now. I’m just glad you’re feeling better...I’m always here if you need, okay?”

Hibiki sighs. “Yeah...thank you.” He glances at the clock. “It’s...kinda late, huh?”

Her gaze falls on the clock as well. “Yeah...I think I’m going to go make dinner. Do you want to come with me?”

“Um..” Hibiki looks at the ground. “I’m not really feeling hungry, after...that...maybe I’ll catch up with you later, though.”

“Alright,” She stands up and takes a deep breath. “Like I said, feel free to come to me if you need anything.”

Hibiki just nods, but doesn’t look up from the floor. Yoshiki leaves him alone regardless, closing the door behind her as quietly as possible.

\---

A light flicks on as Ayako steps into a cottage. He had been biding his time to check this out..just in case. No need to make himself seem suspicious. At first glance, the cabin was normal. Clearly unused for days, but that was to be expected. Nothing unusual. Then, his eyes fall to the envelope lying on top of the desk. Ayako hums quietly as he walks over to it.

Without hesitation, he pulls the piece of paper from the envelope, unfolds it, and reads it.

“Hm,” He mutters, carefully putting the paper back where it was. “So it wasn’t a lie...interesting.”

\---

The Mastermind walks into their room of monitors, stretching their arms upwards.

“Well, that was fun!” They hum happily, plopping down in their chair and picking up the plush Monokuma on the desk. “I’m excited to see what everyone will do next..” 

“I’m so proud of all of them!” They’re speaking to the toy now, spinning in their chair as they do. “I might even have to make things harder for them, since they’re doing so well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIbiki said it's my turn on the emotional support ultimate psychiatrist


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 Day 1

" _Good morning everyone! It is now 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Let’s go greet the day!”_

I squint against the sunlight as my eyes start to open. I’m suddenly reminded that I woke up in complete darkness yesterday...at least things aren’t weird anymore. I still don’t know how that happened…

Slowly, I pull myself to a sitting position, rubbing my eyes. My gaze lands on a pile of paper on my desk, and I’m suddenly reminded of what happened after the trial last night. Chiyoko had collected every single one of the notes between Akio and Takara, and asked for my help trying to see what information we could get from them. Why she wanted my help, I’m not sure, but I didn’t push it. She seemed..oddly fired up? 

A good portion of the notes were just discarded drafts that Akio never sent or wrote any relevant information in, and most of them were just speculation, but we spent all night digging through them regardless. Most of our time was spent trying to decode Takara’s disastrous handwriting. 

I’m even more exhausted than usual now, and a yawn escapes as I stand from my bed. I want to go back to bed...but I don’t want to worry anyone by not showing up to breakfast. It’s not like everyone shows up at the same time most days, anyway, but..I don’t want to take the chance.

I take a little longer than usual to get ready, but eventually I’m dressed and slightly more awake. Once I leave my cottage and lock the door behind me, I take a quick look around. There’s no one else around that I can see, so I just start making my way to the hotel by myself.

When I get to the dining hall, I’m surprised to see almost everyone there, minus Ayako and Chiyoko. Kenji waves enthusiastically, and I wave back, less enthusiastically. I take a seat at the table, next to Shiori.

“G’morning, ‘Taru!” Kenji greets as they pull a towel back to uncover a plate stacked with waffles. “I made breakfast for everyone.”

“That’s really nice,” I smile at them, taking a clean plate from the pile in the center of the table and setting a waffle on top of it. “Thanks.”

As I start to eat, my gaze moves to the far end of the table, where Hibiki sits, nursing a cup of tea. He looks better than he did last night, but he still looks kind of upset… I can hardly blame him. He and Takara were really close.

“How’d you sleep, ‘Taru?” Kenji offers, pulling my attention back in their direction.

“Eh,” I shrug. I decide not to bring up my late-night detective work with Chiyoko. Not in front of everyone. “I’ve slept better, but I’ve slept worse.”

“Fair enough,” They give a nod, then take one last bite of their own breakfast. After swallowing, they say, “I think I’m going to go check out the new areas that got unlocked, if anyone wants to come with.”

Takumi nods, and the two stand up to go clean their plates in the kitchen. That’s right...I guess more places are going to open up after each trial. Are we going to get more talent room keys, too..? I guess I’ll check it out after breakfast. I don’t feel like joining Kenji right now, but maybe we’ll run into each other later.

“How are you?” I hear someone softly ask from a few seats away.

“Ah..” I turn to see Yoshiki, leaning in to talk to me. “I’m alright. Tired...but alright.”

She nods, a little frown on her face. “Alright...I’m..I am trying to check in with everyone..I just want to make sure we’re all doing okay. This place is taking a toll on us all..”

“That’s sweet,” Yoshiki really is putting in a lot of work to make sure we’re all okay.. “And..what about you? How are you feeling?”

“Oh, just fine,” She shakes her head immediately. “No need to worry.”

A small sigh escapes me. “If you’re sure.”

I finish up my waffle and stand to go clean off my plate. Everyone is relatively quiet...there’s some light conversation, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is up for much chat. Which is fair enough, I suppose. As I'm about to leave the dining hall, someone jogs up to my side.

"Hey!" Ikirashi greets. "Are you going to check out the new stuff? Can I...come with you?"

"Oh, sure," I look over at her and give a nod.

She smiles in response, and the two of us leave the hotel.

"Where should we look first?" Iki asks. "I kinda wanna check and see if any new talent development rooms are open.."

"Sounds good," I respond.

We make our way onto the main street. As we leave the hotel, I take note of a new building that looks to have been unlocked on the west street. It looks like...a bank? Why would we need a bank if there's no money…?

Iki's gotten a little bit ahead of me, so she enters the talent building before I do. I catch up pretty quickly, though, and step in after her. Unsurprisingly, nothing's changed about the building. Though there are now two new keys hanging on the holder behind the desk. Didn't four show up last time? Well, whatever. Someone might have already gotten there to check out their room. 

Iki and I lean in to look at the new keys. There's one with a symbol on the key tag that looks like a constellation, and one has a microphone with a laughing smiley face behind it.

"Hey, that looks like yours," I say, pointing to the second key. "The other one is Takumi's, I think."

"Yaaay!!" Iki shouts in excitement, leaning over the counter to pull the key from its hook. "Let's go!"

Just as she says that, someone pushes open the glass doors to the rest of the building. I swear I can feel the energy of the room drop as Ayako steps in front of us.

"Ah, Ikirashi, Hotaru," He greets, his voice flat. "Nice to see you." Without another word, he pushes between the both of us to leave, but not before taking Iki's hand and pressing something into it. "I assume you want this."

"Huh?" Iki mumbles as he leaves, looking down at the object he put in her hand. Her face falls. "...Oh."

"What?"

She holds it up, showing a talent room key. The key tag...has a picture of an ice skate on it. "Oh. Would you...wanna check it out, or..?"

Iki hesitates, looking down at the key again. "..Maybe later. I wanna see mine first."

"Sounds good," I nod, but I can't help but wonder about Yuuka's room. I don't think there'd be anything special in there, but why was Ayako looking there and not the other ones? I shake my head to clear the thought. It's fine.

Iki's already made her way through the doors, so I move quickly to catch up. We both stop at the door next to Kenji's room. The door is painted a light purple, with that same laughing face repeated in a pattern lining the top and bottom of the door. 

"Aaalllrighty, let's see what we've got.." Iki says, fumbling with the key for a moment before putting it in the lock and turning it.

She pushes open the door and flicks on the lights. It reveals a room not too dissimilar to the others I've seen so far. Like Kenji's, there's a big stage at the far end of the room, with a microphone and water cooler already set up. There's already some kind of audience seating set up, though all of the chairs are lounge chairs or armchairs rather than auditorium seats or folding chairs. There's also a relatively large bookshelf, which I can only assume has books about comedy technique...or something.

"Woah!" Iki grins wide, looking around. "This place is pretty cool!" She ducks her head behind the curtain for a moment, but returns, seeming almost disappointed. "Just an empty backstage."

"Mhm.." I nod, moving to sit down in one of the chairs. "Comfy." 

"Ooh, I wanna see!" She grins, and walks over to take the seat next to me. "You're right. This is nice…" 

"Kenji was talking about maybe doing a performance when they saw their own room…" I say, looking around. "Maybe you two could do something together? If...if you'd want."

"Hell yeah!" She smiles wider. “I’ll talk to ‘em later and we can plan a show or something...acting is a little different from stand-up, but I’m sure we could figure something out.”

I smile back. “Sounds fun.”

We spend a little more time just talking in her talent room before we decide to leave. Iki takes her key with her, but doesn’t lock the door behind her. After the last case, I’m not sure how eager I would be to leave my talent room unlocked...but whatever. I shouldn’t be thinking like that, anyway. I’ve already got that paranoia about my cottage.

Iki shoves the key into her pocket, then pulls out the other one. She pauses in the middle of the hallway, just staring at it.

“Do you wanna…?” I trail off, just watching her. 

“I…” She clutches the key tighter, then nods stuffly. “..Yeah. Yeah, I do. Let’s go.”

I nod, and follow her along the row of doors to try and find the right one. A couple doors down on the left, we find it. A pale blue door, with a painting of an ice skating rink on it. Iki just stares for a moment, taking a deep breath.

“Okay,” She nods once, then firmly inserts the key and unlocks the door. I let her step in and turn on the light before following.

Immediately, I’m hit with a sudden temperature change. The room is pretty cold...but looking around, it isn’t too hard to see why. Taking up the majority of the room is a circular ice rink, completely clean and new. It’s sectioned off with a low concrete wall, and in the area Iki and I are standing in, there’s a seating area and a tall shelf of ice skates, and a ladder to reach them. From where I’m standing, I can't really tell if they’re different sizes or all just for Yuuka. 

Iki walks over to the shelf in silence and pulls down a pair that she can reach. She turns one skate over in her hand, careful not to touch the blade. Her brows furrow, and she looks deeply upset, and then she just..sighs.

“She would’ve liked this place…” She mumbles as she puts the skates away. Her gaze moves towards the rink. “I can almost imagine her now, moving across the ice...smiling..” She looks down, fidgeting with her hands. “..I would’ve loved to watch her.”

Gingerly, I approach her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. It’s…” I pause, deciding to rephrase what I wanted to say “...I’m still...I’m really sorry. No one deserved what happened to them...but it’ll be alright. We’ll get out. For them.” 

Iki leans against my arm slightly, and I move to wrap it around her shoulders. She sniffs. “..Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. We’ll figure this all out, and..and we’ll find out whoever’s doing this and make ‘em pay!”

She perks up a little, and I feel a small rush of relief. I’m not sure if I myself even believe we’ll figure it out...but what’s the point in lowering the mood? Iki hugs me tightly, then pulls away, looking energized again.

“I think I’m gonna stay here for a while, but…” She starts, adjusting her cardigan as she speaks. “I’ll be okay. I’ll see you later!”

I nod and wave a goodbye. She waves back enthusiastically, and I head for the door. I shut it softly behind me and sigh. God, this place is awful...it feels like every time we get a shred of happiness, there’s some sudden grim reminder of the death surrounding us. As pessimistic as I’m feeling about the situation, I do hope we get out soon. I hate it here.

As I’m contemplating, I hear a door close nearby. I turn my attention to the noise, and see Takumi emerging from a deep pink door decorated with constellations. They seem to notice me, too, because they look in my direction and wave. I wave back, and they walk over.

“Hey,” I greet. “I thought you were with Kenji?”

“I am,” They explain, glancing back at the door. “They want to look around my room for a while, but I’m getting hungry...do you wanna go get lunch?”

“Sounds good!” I smile, and Takumi nods. 

Takumi starts walking out of the building, and I follow.

Kumi and I make light conversation on the way to the hotel, mostly talking about the talent development rooms we explored. I’m still unsure of their exact purpose...I know they’re probably intended for us to hone our Ultimate talents, but why now? It’s not like they’re very applicable in a 16-person town intended only for murder…

When we arrive at the hotel, someone else is at the door at the same time. Hachiro smiles gently, giving the two of us a small wave as we approach.

“Hey,” He says once we’re close enough. “Are..you two going to get lunch? Would I be able to join…?”

“Of course,” I nod at him, and the three of us head into the hotel. 

“What do we want?” I ask once we’re in the kitchen, already looking in the pantry. Stocked full of food, as always…

“Hm, I’m not very good at cooking..” Hachiro admits. “Maybe something premade or simple?”

“How about spaghetti??” Takumi asks, with a little more enthusiasm than spaghetti requires.

I nod, looking around the pantry for ingredients. “Sounds good.”

Takumi helps me find a box of spaghetti and a jar of marinara sauce, and Hachiro starts boiling some water. I dump the noodles into the pot, a little less carefully than I’d like to admit, and Hachiro starts stirring.

“I still remember when my moms taught me how to make spaghetti,” Takumi starts, rocking on their heels as they watch Hachiro stir the pot. “I was...um..twelve, I think! It felt really hard for me back then...I used to be really afraid of using the stove! Still...kind of am.”

I only give a little laugh in response. I decide that I should start heating up the sauce before the spaghetti is cooked. After pulling out another pot I start pouring a decent helping of the sauce.

“Like I said, I..don’t actually cook much,” Hachiro says, not looking away from the pot. “My grandmother taught me basic stuff, like eggs and pasta and toast, but we usually just ate store bought stuff at home..”

I nod, starting to stir the sauce as the pot heats up. “I don’t do a whole lot at home either. I like to bake box stuff sometimes, and I can cook simple things, but..any more than that and I think I’d burn it.” I laugh quietly.

Talking about home makes me feel a little dizzy. It all feels so distant now...my own bed, my own room, my house...I wonder what my parents are thinking right now. Some part of me almost hopes that the people running this are just doing a really good job at keeping us hidden or something, since there’s been no sign of rescue. Any other conclusion I could make about it makes my stomach churn.  
Soon enough, we finish up the pasta and dish it out into bowls. We end up making more than we needed, so we leave the pot out, hoping people will come in soon to take the leftovers. The three of us sit down at a table in the dining hall and start eating.

“How is your talent room, Kumi?” I ask after a few bites.

“It’s great!” They respond, their eyes bright. “It has all kinds of stuff...books, a bunch of different tarot decks, a whole star chart...it’s way bigger than my collection of stuff back home!”

Hachiro listens intently, nodding at them. “Would you mind if I checked it out sometime? I’m not as familiar with Astrology and the like, but a lot of those things fall pretty in line with my talent..”

“Of course,” Takumi nods happily. 

We eat in silence for a little longer before something crosses my mind. “Hachiro?”

“Hm?” He looks up.

“Um...maybe this isn’t the right time, but..” I take a deep breath. “A little while before that last trial, you….said you..uh..felt someone? Or something like that?”

“Oh,” He nods slowly. “I...did. That cold spot in the middle of the street..”

“Woah!” Takumi’s eyes widen. “You felt a ghost?”

“Mhm,” I nod at them. “You...said it was...one of the first two people, right?”

“Probably?” He shrugs. “I can’t really be sure unless I communicate with them in a more effective way, but..something about...that despair they felt. I don’t know why it would be anyone else.”

“Huh,” I nod. “I, uh...I just wanted to know if you’ve...felt anything else? Since then.”

Hachiro thinks on it for a moment, then just shakes his head. “No, I haven’t…”

“Just..wanted to know,” I let out a deep breath. “Thanks.”

We talk a bit more as we finish our lunch, then go to the kitchen to clean our dishes. It’s nice..Takumi and Hachiro’s energies seem to balance each other out pretty well. I am getting a little burnt out, though...maybe I can get away by myself for a bit. Luckily, I don’t need to try very hard.

“I’m kinda sleepy.." Takumi admits, stretching their arms. “I think I’m gonna go take a nap. Bye!” 

They wave at us before leaving the hotel, presumably to go to their cottage.

"I..think I'm gonna go find Miyako," Hachiro says once she's left. "She said she had something to show me earlier today.."

"Ah, okay," I nod at him, trying to hide my relief at being left alone.

I leave the hotel last, and give myself a moment to breathe before I do. I like most of the people here well enough, but...the murder trials and having to deal with socializing immediately after….isn't my favorite.

I decide to go check out the new building on main street, the one that looks to be a bank. I take a moment to really take it in once I arrive. Written in gold lettering in the front are the words “Despairvile Bank.” God, that’s really the town name they went with, huh? Whatever. I’m more curious about what’s inside. 

Inside is...well, about what you would expect to see on the first floor of a bank. Some chairs set up as a sort of waiting area, tellers’ windows, and the like. As expected, it is also completely devoid of any people. Seriously, why would we need a bank..?

“Weird, huh?” A terribly familiar voice catches my attention, and I quickly turn my head to see Monokuma, sitting on one of the chairs. He hops off and walks closer to me. I find myself taking a small step backwards. “We obviously haven’t had any real need for an economy around here, but...I thought it might make things interesting!"

“What are you talking about?” I shake my head, confused.

“You’ll have to start paying for extra luxuries around here!” Monokuma clarifies, hopping up to stand on one of the teller counters. “Your housing, food, and activities are still free, but if you wanna go buying clothes and other unnecessary stuff, you’ll have to pay!”

“But-” I furrow my brow. This is ridiculous… “None of us have any money?”

“Not yet you don’t!” Monokuma suddenly ducks behind the counter and goes rummaging around somewhere out of sight. When he comes back up, he’s holding a small bag that makes a sound like coins jingling. “Here in Despairville, our citizens pay in Monocoins!”

Monokuma jumps down to the floor again, then walks over and drops the bag at my feet. “Everyone will have the same starting amount of money, but you can earn more by participating in class trials, finding hidden objects, and more!”

“Th-” I stammer, picking up the bag and inspecting it. “This isn’t some video game! What the hell?”

“Of course not!” He waves one robotic paw dismissively. “This is capitalism!”

Before I can respond again, he moves out of my sight. “Jesus Christ..” I mumble, turning to quickly leave the bank.

I stare at the bag in my hands as I walk down the street, unsure where I want to go next. Maybe I’ll just go back to my cottage until dinner, I feel exhausted…

Just as I have this thought, I hear someone shouting nearby. “Hotaru! Hotaru!!”

I look up to see Yoshiki running at me, coming from the west street. She stops in front of me, a little out of breath. “There’s-..There’s a, a problem! In...In the library, they won’t listen to me, b-but maybe if you go-” She grabs my arm.

“Uh, okay??” I respond, a little panicky. What’s going on?

I run with Yoshiki to get to the library. She seems really worried, so I don’t try to press her on it and just work to get there. When we enter, I see Miyako and Ayako, standing across from each other in front of one of the tables. Hachiro is sitting at the table, looking completely frozen in shock. A very large book is sitting on the table in front of him.

“I’m sorry you think that ignoring reality in favor of worsening grief is a respectable lifestyle,” Ayako’s voice is calm and even, but he’s clearly trying to antagonize Miyako.

“Bite me!” She hisses in retort, taking a threatening step forward.

“Oh, you’d like me to, wouldn’t you?”

Before I can even take that in, Miyako acts. Without hesitating, she grabs the book from the table with both hands and swings, full force, at Ayako’s head. He slumps to the ground like a sandbag, and she drops the book with a heavy thunk. Then, she rushes out of the room, fists balled.

“W-Wait, Miyako!” Hachiro shouts, snapped suddenly from his trance. He chases after her, pushing between Yoshiki and I and nearly tripping on his own feet.

I didn’t even have time to think about that...as I’m processing, Yoshiki runs over and kneels down next to Ayako. I shake my head quickly and run next to her.

“Is he...okay?” I ask, fear pricking at the back of my skull.

Yoshiki carefully presses her fingers to his neck and stays quiet for a few moments. “...Well, he’s alive. We should..probably take him to one of the rooms in the hospital..”

I almost forgot we had that… “Yeah. Yeah, I think so too.”

Yoshiki struggles a little, but the two of us manage to carry the unconscious Ayako all the way to the hospital. She doesn’t have a lot of physical strength so most of his weight is on me, but I don’t mind. He’s...weirdly light, anyway, considering his height.

I let out a deep breath once we get him into a bed in one of the rooms. I’m almost worried Monokuma will show up and tell us we have to pay for his care or something, but he doesn’t, so I can only assume we’re okay.

Yoshiki gets right to work in searching the shelves of medical supplies. “Um..you can go if you want, I have a little bit of experience with this stuff, I can take care of him. Thank you for helping me get him here…” 

I glance over to her, then to Ayako, then back to her. “If you’re sure…”

She turns to me, then nods and smiles brightly. I take another moment to think, then decide to just leave. Not like I could be much help anyway… 

As I leave the hospital, I curse myself silently for not trying to stop the situation before it escalated like that. Yoshiki asked for my help, and I just watched… We’re lucky she didn’t kill him or anything. I didn’t think Miyako was even strong enough to do that…

My body and mind feel totally exhausted. I don’t think I could go anywhere else if I wanted to. There are a few new places open that I noticed, but I really don't feel up to any more exploring. I make a beeline straight for my cottage, luckily not running into anyone else before I get there. Despite how tired I am, I manage to change into more comfortable clothes before crashing on my bed. Before I know it, I’m fast asleep.

I’m awoken by loud knocks on my door. I jolt awake, sitting up immediately. My head hurts from getting up so fast, and I take a second, clenching my eyes shut. The knocking doesn’t stop.

As soon as I can, I get up and walk to the door. I open it to see Kenji standing there, holding a plate of food. It’s just premade chicken nuggets, but I’m grateful for the dinner.

“Hii!” They greet, holding the plate out to me. “Most of us had dinner together, but I didn’t want to interrupt your nap...it’s getting pretty late though, and you should eat…” 

“Oh, thank you, Kenji,” I smile at them, taking the plate. I’m feeling drowsy from my long nap, but..better. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem!” They smile wide, but it drops after just a moment. “Are...you doing okay? Since the trial, I mean..”

I just shrug. “I mean, not great, but..who is?”

“Well…” Kenji takes a moment to think, then perks up again. “No one else is gonna die, I’ll make sure of it!”

I just nod. The possibility of that is diminishing in my mind every day, but I would never say that out loud. “Yeah...um, thanks again.”

“Anything for a friend!” They glance over their shoulder, presumably at the clock tower. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. See ya tomorrow!"

I waved goodbye to them, then shut the door behind me. I appreciate them always taking care of me, even though they can be a bit much. I kinda wish I did more in return…

I eat pretty quickly, since the hunger came on pretty soon after I woke up. After I finish, I leave the plate on my nightstand, deciding to leave it until morning. I feel too tired to shower, but I manage to brush my teeth and put my hair up before crawling back into bed. Today felt...really long. Longer than any of the days I’ve spent here so far. Is this really my routine now…? Will this...just keep going until we’re all dead?

I’m not awake long enough to really ponder this. The nighttime announcement doesn’t even go off before I'm unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about double my usual for daily life chapters but there was. A lot to fit in lmao


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 Day 2

_"Good Morning, citizens! It is now 7 AM, which means nighttime is officially over! Let's get ready for a wonderful day!"_

I throw an arm over my eyes as I wake up, sunlight from the window hitting me instantly. Slowly, I pull myself up and stretch. I definitely feel more rested than I did yesterday, but I never feel like I can quite get a good enough sleep in this place. 

Once I feel able, I pull myself from my bed. I’m suddenly reminded that I didn’t get to check out all of the new buildings yesterday, so I decide to make that my top priority after breakfast. Whatever new places I haven’t seen yet might start giving us clues about how to get out...or something. It’s not like I have anything better to do, anyway.

I step out of my cottage and glance around, and almost immediately I hear someone call my name.

“Oh! Hotaru!” I hear Yoshiki call, and when I turn she’s just outside of her cabin, rushing towards me. I walk a little closer to close the gap, and she stops in front of me. “I, uh….after we brought Ayako to the hospital, I was able to help him a little bit, but he stayed unconscious for quite a while...I told him to stay and rest, and he listened...eventually…” She quickly shakes her head and straightens up. “I was just wondering, would you mind coming with me to check on him after breakfast?”

I pause for a moment. Ayako and I haven’t really gotten along, and I don’t know how much help I could be. Still, he hasn’t really gotten along with anyone, anyway… “Sure. Yeah.” So much for checking out the new buildings first.

“Thank you very much!” She flashes a bright smile, then starts heading over to the hotel. I follow her, but try and glance down the east and west streets to see what I can make of the new buildings. I can’t really tell much, so I shake my head and just catch up to Yoshiki.

When we enter the dining hall, there are much less people than yesterday morning. Takumi and Kenji are talking, and they seem pretty excited, considering it’s so early in the morning. Then again, when has their energy not been abnormally high? Chiyoko is off at a different table, and looks to be writing something in a small notebook. She seems pretty focused on it...I turn my attention back to the main table to see Hibiki and Hachiro talking softly. Hibiki definitely looks better than yesterday. He’s definitely without his usual spark, but...better.

Yoshiki and I make our way to the kitchen to get breakfast. I just grab myself a bowl of cereal, since I don’t really feel up for more effort than that. Plus, I want to get in and out of the hospital to check on Ayako as fast and as soon as I can.

I leave the kitchen before Yoshiki, and catch someone quietly calling to me.

“Hotaru,” Chiyoko says in somewhat of a whisper, gesturing me over.  
She seems pretty intense right now...but not angry. I don’t think she’s mad at me. I walk over and sit across from her.

“What is it?” I ask quietly, unsure how private she wants to keep this conversation.

“I…” She glances around the dining hall before speaking .”..I think I figured something out.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You did?” I assume she means regarding the digging we did through Takara and Akio’s notes- though I can’t remember either of us finding much.

“Yes,” She nods, turning the notebook to face me. I glance down at it, then back up at her. “..I’m almost certain that my theory about the traitor is true, though that was confirmed by Ichiro’s motive letter, if we can believe it to be accurate. But...I was wrong about the people who trapped us here, to a degree?”

“In what way?” I ask, looking down at the notebook again.

Chiyoko lowers her voice to such a quiet whisper I can barely make it out. “It may only be one person,” She answers, turning the notebook away again and closing it before I can really read it. “And it’s likely that they are one of us.”

My eyes widen. “Are...Are you sure? How would they be able to run the killing game and be a part of it?"

“The killing game basically runs itself, don’t you think?” She tucks the notebook into a pocket on the inside of her blazer as she speaks. “I mean, we’re completely walled in, and Monokuma handles everything else. There isn’t much need for them to take care of everything constantly.”

“But Monokuma-”

“Almost certainly an AI,” Chiyoko interrupts me. "An advanced one, but I think we can safely say he mostly runs on AI. I spent a good amount of time yesterday talking to Nakukuma and Monokuma to try and see what they could or couldn't answer. It seems to have some sort of limit, since they couldn't answer questions about things outside of this town that didn't seem like an automated response, or something pulled from the internet. Everything else was decently in line with his usual personality, but it has some fallacies.”

“So..the Mastermind wouldn’t have to control Monokuma all the time…” I conclude. “And pretty much every big event happens overnight, so they would have time to slip away and work on whatever wasn’t already in motion.”

Chiyoko nods. “Yes...that does make me confused about the traitor, though. If Ichiro did get that secret about someone working with the mastermind...Why would they need someone else on the inside?”  
“Hm…” I furrow my brow and stare down at the table in thought for a few moments. “Well...since they’re posing as a student, they can’t keep track of everything all the time, right? And I’m guessing Monokuma is only made to keep track of rule breaking...so having an extra set of eyes to make sure we don’t step out of line would be convenient. Not to mention the traitor could just be a plant for murder, in case we didn’t start killing fast enough.”

She nods. “That makes sense..I don’t have any suspicions either way right now, but I had to tell someone.”

“And…” I frown. “How do you know you can trust me, then? Not saying I’m the traitor or mastermind or anything, but…”

“Whoever’s running this has made too many careless mistakes to be you,” She explains, though I feel like she’s not giving me the full answer. She stands up and brushes off her skirt. “And I just don’t see any reason for you to be the traitor. I trust you.”

I watch Chiyoko as she leaves the dining hall, repeating her words in my head. Funnily enough, I’m more surprised about gaining her trust than I am the information about the Mastermind. She's been so cold up until now, and hasn't shown any specific interest in me...I look back to my now soggy bowl of cereal. I should probably just go with Yoshiki now, if she’s ready.

After cleaning up my uneaten breakfast, I make my way to where Yoshiki is sitting at the table. It looks like she’s done eating, but is sticking around to talk for a bit.

“Hey,” I say softly. “Are you ready to go..?”

“Oh!” She straightens. “Yes, sorry..”

I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Yoshiki waves goodbye to Hibiki and Hachiro, then stands up and pushes in her chair.

The two of us quickly start making our way to the hospital. Part of me wonders if Ayako’s already left...but I guess that’s why we’re going to check up on him, anyways. The walk doesn’t take too long, and I make light conversation with Yoshiki about her earlier conversation with Hibiki and Hachiro, and how her experience with Ayako went yesterday. Luckily, she never gets the chance to ask me about my conversation with Chiyoko.

She leads me back to the room we carried Ayako to, and pauses before knocking on the door.

“It’s unlocked,” Ayako’s voice mutters from inside.

Yoshiki pushes open the door, gingerly, and I follow her inside. Ayako is sitting on the bed, eyes fixated on some random anatomy poster on the wall.  
“Um…” I see Yoshiki’s eyes flicker to the poster for a moment. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Ayako finally turns his gaze to us, sounding more annoyed than usual. “Can I leave now?”

“I mean…” Yoshiki starts fidgeting with the hem of her cardigan. “You can leave whenever you want, I just don’t want you to hurt yourself or something-”

“I have a concussion, at worst,” He scoffs. “I’ll be fine.” His noses scrunches. “I need a shower.”

Yoshiki lets out a long sigh. “Alright...but don’t blame me if you start feeling worse.”

Ayako is already pulling himself out of the bed. “I don’t plan on it.”

“She..really hit you hard, huh?” I ask, trying to contribute anything at all.

Ayako turns from putting his shoes on to glower at me. “I’m _fine.”_

“Right..right,” I swallow. He’s...a little scarier than I’ve realized.

Ayako doesn’t acknowledge us again as he collects his things and leaves. Looks like Yoshiki didn’t really need my help…

I see her move over to crouch down beside the bedside table. She grabs something, then stands up. My eyes flicker downwards, and I see that she’s holding a relatively small backpack.

“What’s that for?” I ask, gesturing to the bag.

“Oh…” She laughs softly, awkwardly. “Well, after the incident yesterday, I realized how far away the hospital is from some buildings around here. I thought...maybe I could put together a little medical bag for emergencies...especially if we find someone before they..you know.”

“That’s a really good idea, Yoshiki,” I nod with a smile. I’d really hope no one else will have to die and that we won’t have to worry about patching someone up before another body discovery, but it is a good precaution. 

“Thank you,” She nodded. “I did not get a chance to actually fill it up yesterday, but I left the bag here, so I might as well do it now, if you’ll help me.”

Yoshiki and I spend a while putting together the medical bag, deciding what is and isn’t important, and what would actually be useful. She eventually adds blood bags meant for transfusions to a temperature-controlled lunch box. Quickly, she explains that, while none of us may be qualified to do blood transfusions, it could be helpful if we get desperate. I honestly doubt it, but..I let her put them in the bag anyway.  
Eventually, we finish packing the bag, and Yoshiki and I part ways. I stand outside the hospital for a few moments, collecting myself. Then, I take off for the closest building that I haven’t seen. I decide to explore the new building on the west street. 

When I step inside, I’m greeted by a sort of reception desk. Right away, the building gives the feeling of being sterile, but not in the way the hospital is. It feels sterile in the way an office building is sterile.

I move past the empty reception desk, and enter a room full of different tables, all with computer monitors sitting atop them. There is a large projector screen on the far wall, and a door to another room on my right. I guess this is...an entire building dedicated to A/V work? After doing a quick glance at all of the computers, I decide to peek into the other room. Looks like a darkroom for photography...but I don’t know if I’ve seen a photo camera since I got here. At the general store, maybe. I close the door and move to sit at one of the computers.

After taking a moment to find the power button, and to my surprise, the computer starts turning on. The screen that displays while booting up seems rather fitting for the killing game; The loading screen is on a black background with the loading circle moving around Monokuma’s red eye. When it turns in, there is only a guest login available. I click the option only to be met with a nearly empty desktop. The only files on the entire computer seem to be the same content available on our e-handbooks. Still, it looks like there are still a few simple programs available: a writing program, an image editing program, and a video editing program. No internet connection or browser, though.

Slightly disappointed, I turn off the computer and stand. I was really hoping that there would be something that might reveal a little more about this place. But having an entire room of computers could be helpful...going through every single computer to look for files might be too long a task for little reward, though.

After taking one last glance around, I head out of the computer building and make my way to the new building on the east street.

The other building is equally unhelpful. It looks like a restaurant. I guess if we don’t want to make food ourselves we could go here...and a look at the menu tells me they have more options than we have available in the hotel kitchen, which is pretty impressive. As I look around the restaurant, I start to realize how hungry I am. I didn’t have breakfast and it’s getting around lunch time, so I decide that I may as well treat myself.

As expected, Nakukuma asks for payment when I order. It’s not much, though, so I hand him some of the loose monocoins I had shoved into pockets yesterday and wait for my meal.

As I’m eating, entirely alone, in an empty restaurant in some mystery town, it really hits me how surreal this all is. In just a little over a week, we’ve lost four people. And we just have to keep going like this, day by day, until God knows what happens. Are we all doomed to die here, one by one? Is anyone actually coming?

I manage to ignore the pit of dread forming in my stomach and finish my lunch. It’s beyond difficult, but it’s all I can do to stop my thoughts from spiralling any further. decide to just leave the bowl and utensils on the table and make my way out of the restaurant. After walking a little bit down the street, I hear someone speak.

“Hey, big sis ‘Taru,” Hibiki is standing about a foot away, and I can’t help but jump slightly. How long had he been there?

“Oh, hey,” I force a smile- no need to put any extra pressure on him. I know he’s still recovering from the last trial. “How are you?”

He just shrugs. “I’m alright. How are you?”

“I’m fine as well,” I give a stiff nod, hoping he can’t pick up on my tension.

“That’s good!” He smiles, but it’s not nearly as bright as usual. He then blinks, as if realizing something. “Oh yeah! Kenji asked me to tell you something. In two days, Kenji and Ikirashi are going to put on a show for everyone! They’ve been planning it all day, and they’re gonna put it together tomorrow. I’m the designated messenger, so…”

“Oh!” I exclaim. The two had talked a little bit about something like an improv comedy show, but I wasn’t sure if they would commit to it. It would be nice to get spirits up. “Sounds fun, I’ll definitely be there.”

“Great!” His smile widens. “Oh, and if you wanna help them set up, they could always use the extra hands.”

“I’ll see how I feel tomorrow, then,” I respond with a small hum.

“Aaaalrighty!” He nods. “I’m gonna go tell everyone else. Seeya, big sis ‘Taru!” He flashes a peace sign, then runs off.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to that nickname...whatever makes him happy is alright, though. 

After talking to Hibiki, I take a quick stop at the library. I briefly cross paths with Miyako there, who is reading a book from a large stack of graphic novels. I pick up a couple different books for myself, then head straight back to my cottage.

The rest of the day passes pretty quickly, as I spent most of my time reading until dinner. I’m glad that there are at least ways to entertain myself in this place..I can’t be around everyone all the time.

Once I crawl into bed later that night and the nighttime announcement plays, I’m once again hit with the same deep dread I felt earlier. That..despair. Our situation hasn’t gotten any better, and I don’t know what to do. I hate that I’ve gotten used to things here, but what can be done? No one has come to help us, and there’s no exit...there has to be an end to this killing game.

Right?


End file.
